Colonel Mortimer's Quest
by slytherinsal
Summary: Colonel Douglas Mortimer, in danger of drifting now that El Indio is dead, falls in with a youngster who has an enemy in common with him; now he has more missions in life. Manco will make his appearance! Baddies guaranteed; I own nothing not even a poncho
1. Chapter 1

A/N _ I finally got enough together to publish it; It's still a work in progress though so if I don't keep one step ahead of the updates, my apologies in advance. Particular thanks to Artemis Acorn who let me have a lot of information about the region and some of its denizens, scenery and stories; and for encouraging me to go for it. It's down to her that I actually got around to writing past the first 4 chapters. Yes I know this is in Good Bad and Ugly and is actually a follow on from 'For a few dollars more' but this fandom seems to be used for the Dollar Trilogy films so I haven't bothered to either try to espatblish a new category or ask for it to be changed to Dollar Trilogy.  
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**Chapter 1**

The black clad man sat alone at the table in the saloon, with a well deserved drink. He was the sort of man that most law abiding people might take at first glance to be a lawyer or a business man; until they looked into his eyes. Those narrow, almost almond shaped eyes were devoid of any emotion but watchfulness; they were eyes that had gazed on death so often that they almost held an echo of the grave in them. The face was bland and gave little away; but the discerning might note that not all the lines about the eyes were from squinting at the bright desert landscape; some were emissaries of humour in a man who had known laughter, as the faint lines by his mouth told a similar story. Some might say that his humour was as dark as the death that looked out of his eyes; others that he had buried it six feet under. But those who had most cause to complain about his humour were themselves beyond complaining in the land of the living.

He was a man who, once they had looked into his eyes, the law-abiding avoided as dangerous.

He was a bounty hunter.

He was aware of the light step behind him and used the mirror behind the bar to ascertain that it was not the barmaid as he had initially guessed but a youth who could be no more than a boy.

There was no apparent change to his demeanour; but he was ready. Even for a boy.

The man in black had never seen this boy before. But that did not mean that the boy was not trouble. And the boy made his way purposefully, threading through the rickety tables to approach the only currently occupied one, lithely making his way across the room.

"Colonel Mortimer?" the boy spoke softly.

"Mm'Mm?" said the man in black.

"May I join you?" asked the boy.

"It's a free world" said the Colonel. His tone was not encouraging. He gave his attention to his pipe, filling it carefully; seeming not to even look at the newcomer.

Seeming.

The piercing eyes missed nothing though they seemed to concentrate only on the pipe as though that was the only thing in the world he cared about.

It did not seem to deter the youth – he did not even shave yet thought Mortimer – who sat down opposite.

"I was looking for you" said the boy "You ARE Colonel Mortimer aren't you? You didn't exactly confirm it."

Mortimer looked up from his pipe and regarded the boy.

"I am" he said. "I believe you have the advantage of me."

The youth flushed.

"Robert" he said. "Robert …Lee"

"Well if you claim a middle initial of 'E' I can't say I'd be sure I'd believe that" said the man in black.

"I was named for General Lee; plenty of people were" said the boy "Most people call me Bobby."

Mortimer grunted.

"It's a little boy's name. You ARE a little boy. What's a little boy doing in a bar talking to a bounty hunter?" he laid down the pipe and took a pull on the liquor in his glass.

Bobby grinned shyly.

"I wanted to ask if you'd take me as your apprentice" he said.

Mortimer almost choked on his drink.

"Boy, you are insane" he said "It's not the sort of thing a young kid like you does by choice. Go back home to your mammy and pappy."

"I've nowhere to go" said Bobby "And I figured that in this world, one is either predator; or prey. I don't want to be prey. A predator has to be either against the law; or working for it. And a criminal is a slave to his need to stay out of gaol; and a lawman is a slave to Uncle Sam. The bounty hunter has the precarious freedom to starve or eat well in his own sweet way."

Mortimer regarded the youth through his narrow almond shaped eyes.

"Well you've not got too many illusions" he said "You're a sickly looking brat."

Bobby shrugged.

"I come from out east. Easiest way to travel without too many questions asked was to claim to be taking something akin to the Prairie Cure. A consumptive gets left alone. So I have been careful not to let my skin darken yet. I dare say it will and if I have someone to work for I shall be eating more regularly and lose the skinny look."

Mortimer regarded the boy malevolently. He disliked being made to feel driven into a corner. He would maybe give the kid a square meal and tell him to get lost…. He regarded the thin, nervous hands playing with the empty glass the youth had picked up. Their fingers were long and delicate.

He grunted.

"Well maybe we'll give it a trial; you fetch and carry for me and saddle up the horses – do you have a horse? Do you now how to care for them?"

The boy flushed. It showed more on so pale a skin.

"Of course Colonel, sir. We've always had horses…. Before I had to leave you understand" he added. "I came with my mare."

The colonel nodded.

"Very well; I'll check her over in the morning. I'm in no hurry to leave so we can take our time. I was about to order supper; I take it you'd like to eat? I'll pay you with board and you sleep wherever I sleep and when I take a man in I'll pay you a proportion according to how well you earned it. Suit you?"

"Yes sir; suits me just fine" said the boy.

oOoOo

Mortimer watched Bobby eating. The lad ate with the concentration of hungry youth but with a delicacy that spoke of a gentle upbringing. Well, the boy bore watching. And that was why he had taken this strange youngster under his wing; because there was a story there. This place was no place for a child who knew nothing of the world; the evenings brought rough customers and a kid like this might easily accidentally cause offence and find himself shipped back east in a wooden box. Mortimer sighed. Sometimes having a conscience was a serious problem. Well, first of all there was much to find out; and then he might make decisions.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"I had hot water sent up ahead of us" said Colonel Mortimer "I need a bath. You can bath right after I've finished; I shan't take long the water will still be hot."

He was undoing his string tie and shrugged out of his jacket; then proceeded to start to take the rest of his clothes off and hang them neatly on the chair that lay by the hip bath in the small room he had hired at the saloon.

He got as far as his red flannel underwear and turned to grin cynically at the youth who was looking slightly horrified.

"All right little miss; now that I've got your attention would you care to tell me the real story?"

She gasped. Her shoulders spoke of resigned acceptance that he had the truth; good, thought Mortimer, she is not going to make me force her to admit it.

"Do I have to?" she asked "It's not especially interesting; and what I said was true as far as it went. Only the name is Roberta and the surname seemed to fit."

"So I surmised" said Mortimer dryly. "Here, help me with the blanket; I'll pin it to the beam with a couple of knives as a screen. I really DO need a bath and you can carry on talking while I take it."

Roberta held the blanket meekly while he drove a pair of throwing knives through it into the ceiling beam. It was not perfect but it would do. She heard the sound of further undressing and a quiet splash or two.

"I don't think there's a lot to tell" she said.

"Oh I think there's plenty to tell" said Mortimer. "Now you've acknowledged the corn. Why were you seeking ME out for instance? Not surely on my reputation? Because I don't usually work under my name you know. Most people only know me as the Man in Black. Colonel Douglas Mortimer is a name that is dead and almost buried."

There were a flurry of splashes and she could imagine that he had emerged.

She could hear him towelling himself vigorously.

"I – I think we might have an enemy in common" she said.

"Go on"

"Gamaliel Gellibrand" she said.

The curtain was jerked back in sudden disbelief as he stared at her. He had got as far as the lower half of his red flannel underwear and she blushed.

"Don't make inflammatory remarks like that if you don't expect me to react" he said. It was almost a snarl. "Why should Gamaliel Gellibrand be an enemy of a young girl?"

"Because my parents want me to marry him" said Roberta calmly.

Mortimer stared.

"How old are you?" he demanded.

"Almost nineteen. I got back from finishing school and he desired me; and the next thing that I knew of the matter was that he arranged with my father to wed me. My father is a great friend of his; they came from the north together. He married my mother – you probably know her. Her maiden name was Lilian Redcastle."

"I recall young Miss Redcastle" said Mortimer. "Her fiancé died at Gettysburg. She swore she would never marry."

"I doubt she had much choice" said Roberta. "Her father shot himself – or so I've been told – and my father wanted the property."

"He doesn't seem to have brought you up to be a good little carpet-bagger" said Mortimer.

"My father has had very little to do with my upbringing" said Roberta "I heard most of the history from my maid. Also about you, the greatest shot in the Carolinas. And how you were ousted from your family home by Gamaliel Gellibrand. I find him repulsive; so I considered that his enemy had to have the advantage of being a lot better. Besides, though they don't dare speak out, the older negroes who remember you are very loyal, Amaryllis says. She's my maid. Seems slavery is relative and freedom in name isn't always freedom in fact. Mr Gellibrand is a cruel man."

Breath hissed through Mortimer's gritted teeth.

"I never returned… I thought – I KNEW – it would stir up trouble" he said. "So. I can quite understand you fleeing such a man – he's ten years older than I am and when I last saw him he was as fat as a hog."

"That's because lawyers are the most successful of criminals" said Roberta. "He's awful; and it's his calculating eyes and the way he looks at me that is worst. He brought a necklace as a betrothal gift and he was pawing at it as he displayed it to me and I could see he wanted to paw at me too; he tried to put it on me. Papa excused me for dodging out of the way by saying that I was overcome and turned shy."

"And have you told him you don't want this match?"

"YES!" cried Roberta "Over and over; and he tells me not to be ungrateful and that it's a good match and that I'm my wilful mother's wilful brat and he can cure my obstinacy with his belt. So I ran away" she said "And here I am."

He shook his head, bewildered.

"But why seek me out? Don't you have any relatives? Schoolfriends who might put you up?"

"And where is he going to look first?" demanded Roberta. "Relatives I have not. A few schoolfriends yes; and he'd find me and drag me back and all perfectly legally. There are a limit to the number of jobs a woman might take; so I became a boy and decided to head where nobody would think I would go. My mother is broken; she won't defend me. I sent Amaryllis to her auntie so papa cannot question her; I doubt he would recognise her in the street if she's not dressed in her maid's costume. I thought that if you would teach me to take care of myself I could either be a help or move on if you found me an irritation because you're not used to working much with a partner. How did you guess?"

"You approached me with a woman's step. You have a woman's hands. You flush easily. I knew you were lying about your name. I was fairly certain; so I decided to test you with the old bath trick. And speaking of which you may as well take your turn while the water is still hot; the curtain will do for you as well as for me."

He had been dressing while she spoke, and finished buckling on the belt with his Buntline specials in their custom holsters.

Roberta nodded and went round to the bath as he strode over to sit on the bed.

She would hear it creak if he got up; so she made a hasty ablution and emerged clean.

oOoOo

Mortimer nodded.

"We'll still share a room; it will look suspicious if we don't. You can have the bed and I'll have the floor" he said.

She shrugged.

"It's wide enough" she said "We can put our packs down the middle."

He considered; then nodded.

"Very well" he said. "Sleep is valuable to retain the wits. I won't treat you in any way other than I might a boy. Which will be hard for you. But you cannot afford any whispers that you are not what you seem to be. I counted Lilian Redcastle my friend; she was the best friend of my sister. I'll keep an eye out for her daughter."

"Thank you Colonel" said Roberta.

His smile was not altogether pleasant.

"You may not be thanking me by the time you start to learn the ropes" he said "But I can't afford to drag a weakling around; you need to get fit and strong beyond what a girl normally attains; because my life depends on it. And if my life depends on it, that means, young shaver, so does yours."

She nodded.

"Yes sir; I accept that and understand" she said. "I expect I shall hate you a little bit; but it won't be the same as the way I loath Mr Gellibrand."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"You black-clad bastard! I know who you are! You are going to die!"

Colonel Mortimer and Roberta had saddled up ready to leave for….. well, Mortimer knew and Roberta had decided it might be as well not to irritate him too much by being unnecessarily curious. It was perhaps unfortunate that he had paused to make some purchases before they moved on; or they might have been gone before the newcomer had arrived.

He was a rangy creature, unkempt and unshaven, with the patina to his skin of a man accustomed to the most perfunctory of ablutions at none too regular intervals. His dark eyes glittered with malice as he came face to face with Mortimer.

"I believe" said Mortimer mildly, in answer to the wild shout, "That may not yet be determined by fate."

The greasy fellow sneered.

"You put me away, you….." – Roberta did not even understand the epithet he added to this – "And now I'm going to kill you. I have my gun out, you tarnal old son of a bitch and you'll be dead as a door nail!"

The man's hand jerked up and there was the sound of a shot.

The second shot was almost an echo and a chip flew off the overhanging upper story of the saloon as the foul mouthed stranger toppled backwards slowly.

Mortimer holstered his Buntline and gave a quizzical smile to Roberta who had got as far as picking up the bucket by the horse trough and was standing there feeling foolish as she had been preparing to hit the interloper on the head.

"You're too slow" he said "It'll need training. You froze in shock for several seconds."

"I- I'm sorry sir" said Roberta, putting the bucket down sheepishly "And that could have killed you if YOU hadn't been so fast. I didn't even SEE you draw!"

"He talked too much" said Mortimer. "Come on, we're shipping out!"

"Don't we have to wait and see the sheriff and…. Er, make it clear he was…. That he drew first?" asked Roberta. Mortimer laughed a mirthless laugh.

"I should think the whole town heard what happened, kid; why do we need to tell anyone? S'far as I know he's got no bounty on him yet, so we won't be richer for waiting on him."

Roberta shrugged and swung herself into the saddle.

Mortimer sighed.

Maybe it was just because he knew but she even mounted like a girl.

That was a habit he would have to break.

oOoOo

They followed an arroyo to the rearing rocks of a mesa; and through a narrow gulch and thence a trail that rose up the side of it like a giddily precarious stairway. It opened up to a wider pass as they rose, with a plashing laughing waterfall that issued from the cliff face and gurgled its way to a sink hole where it disappeared in a pool. A dark opening on the side of the cliff made Mortimer grunt in satisfaction.

"Our new quarters until you can pass properly as a lad and have learned some measure of skill with a gun" he said. "Nice and private."

"Have you stayed here before?" asked Roberta.

"No; but a man I killed did" said Mortimer. "He figured it was impossible to find him; a dry place to stay out of sight, all the water he needed, game available. He forgot one small essential."

"What was that?" asked Roberta.

"Cigar smoke rises" said Mortimer laconically. "And I shall be eschewing my pipe save when we're out in the desert training."

oOoOo

Roberta had never been so tired in her life.

Colonel Mortimer drove her ruthlessly; not just in her manner of walking and riding, but in riding techniques she never would have guessed existed, and in shooting the Smith and Wesson she had bought to come West with; and in general fitness. A Southern Belle was not expected to be athletic; and though the sheer privation of the journey West had hardened her to some degree, still she was lacking in muscles. Mortimer treated her like a raw recruit to his regiment.

Roberta did not resent the harsh regimen of training; though she sometimes went to her bed roll almost weeping with tiredness. She had talked herself into this; she had nobody to blame but herself. And she knew, and reminded herself, that being the property of Gamaliel Gellibrand would be infinitely worse. Here at least she was learning skills and learning to master herself. And the Colonel did it for her protection as well as his. Gellibrand would be likely to cause her pain for his own entertainment.

"So" said Mortimer, as they ate one evening "How DID you track me down?" he was taking a 'dry smoke' chewing on the stem of his unlit pipe.

"Can you believe, the newspapers?" said Roberta "There was a story about the capture of a famous bandit, some man called 'Indio' and there was an artist's impression of the two bounty hunters who went against him and his band. Ma exclaimed and declared that one of them was Colonel Douglas Mortimer. The rest? Well, the rest was a matter of finding out the name of the town from which the artist had sent the picture, then travelling there and following rumour. Ma spoke to the editor of the paper that ran the story because she wondered what had become of you; so I had that information when I ran away."

Mortimer stared into the distance, taking the pipe from his mouth.

"He killed my sister" he said. "El Indio. It took many years to track him down. I almost returned east once he was dead but there was nothing there for me…. I thought all the credit had gone to Manco – the man I was working with."

Roberta shrugged.

"I gather he mentioned that it had been a joint effort" she said. "You were well enough known to be depicted recognisably. I copied the picture in the paper to be sure of recognising you. My education may not have included gun fighting but it did include art. Also music, deportment, poetry and flower arranging. Nothing especially useful I'm afraid."

"Show me the sketch you made" he demanded.

Roberta got up and extracted it from her pack. It had become crumpled on the journey; but there was enough to it to recognise Mortimer, his narrow eyes less humorous than Roberta knew they usually were; but the shape was there, the neat moustache and the sensitive lips and narrow chin.

"Here; it's not that much like you. I was copying another man's recollection" she said.

He nodded.

"Draw me from your own memory" he said.

Roberta looked startled, but got her sketch block and pencil. He had walked round the corner of the little plateau so he would be out of sight. She did as she was bid.

He had made a guess how long she might take and returned as she was adding finishing touches. He examined her sketch.

He nodded. She had not made a bad job; there was life in his eyes. They crinkled appreciatively mirroring the look she had drawn into her sketch.

"Well if you can recall faces that you see for less time and make as good a likeness as of the copy from the newspaper it might be handy" he said. "For a bounty hunter to ask 'have you seen this man' rather than give a vague description."

Roberta grinned.

"Well I suppose I did not waste my time totally" she said.

"Looks like you didn't" he agreed.

"I do have a lot to learn" said Roberta "For instance, there was a word that man used – the one you shot back in town – that I don't know."

Mortimer got out his pipe and toyed with it.

"And we're going to keep it that way" he said.

"Won't it look suspicious if I don't know it?" asked Roberta.

"It'll look more suspicious if you blush because you know what it means" said Mortimer dryly, cleaning imaginary dottle out of his pipe bowl. "Or if I blush because I've explained it to you."

"Oh!" said Roberta blankly.

He laughed and ruffled her hair.

"A kid the age you look might not have come across it anyways" he said. "And if I had a son your age I'd thrash him for using it."

And with that Roberta had to be content.

And she acknowledged that the Colonel was probably right; though what kind of word could make HIM blush for explaining it quite escaped her!


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Colonel Mortimer had been thinking. He watched Roberta wash up after a meal as he pondered; and called her over.

"Come here Bobby; I want to talk something through" he said. Roberta ran over cheerfully; and he nodded approval that she was running more like a boy now.

"I'd protect any young female from Gamaliel Gellibrand" he said "And my sister's friend's daughter even more. I had wondered though if I did you no favours encouraging this masquerade as a boy; whether I should find you some respectable chaperone" he held up his hand as she opened her mouth to speak. Roberta shut it again to let him finish. "It occurred to me that in this sort of district, the only RESPECTABLE female I could find who would leave house and home to be a chaperone would be the widow of a man killed grading the railroad" he said "Who would either be rather rough and ready herself; or would treat you bad because she would assume a young girl travelling alone was a hussy who was no better than she ought to be" he took a pull on his pipe. "I considered – purely for your convenience to travel – marrying you; but a young thing like you wouldn't want that sort of tie even for convenience. So I have to say I can't see any alternative to you continuing to dress as a boy. I'm sorry."

Roberta gave a squeal of delight.

"Oh Colonel Mortimer, I AM glad! Boys have so much more fun; even though it's hard work this is the best time I've ever had in my life."

He laughed disbelievingly.

"I've shouted at you, cuffed you, made you work like a slave and this is the best time you've had in your life?" he said, quirking up one expressive eyebrow.

"Oh yes sir; you can't believe what a sense of freedom it gives feeling that I've achieved something when I manage to earn your praise for doing well" said Roberta "And I feel that I have the chance of actually REALLY being a good partner to you and earning my own way. It's very liberating. So is not wearing female accoutrements" she added with a slight blush. "Not that I'd OBJECT to being married to you; I mean, though it's no real compliment you are much better looking than Mr Gellibrand and it would mean I would be safe from being married to anyone else, so please don't think I don't appreciate the offer."

He laughed a short laugh.

"Well anyone is preferable to that man…. And if I had thought it necessary, you need not have worried that it would be anything but a marriage in name only…. Bless the child, you don't even know where babies come from, do you?"

"Doesn't God send them?" asked Roberta.

Mortimer groaned.

"If you think I'm going to tell you about the birds and the bees you can think again" he said. "Oh dear."

oOoOo

In the end Mortimer drew some diagrams and wrote a concise explanation about those things that gave the bare bones of reproduction and gave them to Roberta telling her almost harshly to read them when they could not see each other to spare no end of blushes.

"You'll see men urinate, not knowing there's a woman present" he said roughly "So you need to know what er…equipment they have and ….. just go away and read it!"

oOoOo

Roberta was not sure if she were shocked or deeply fascinated by the document. She read it carefully and then burned it. That meant nobody could find it in her possessions. She told Mortimer what she had done.

He nodded.

"Wise" he said. "We cannot guarantee that someone might not rifle through our belongings. It was why I made you get rid of your corsets. Some men wear corsets but they are of a different design; and you, as a slender youth, would not need to do so."

She nodded.

Corsets, which had been the most embarrassing thing she had ever talked about with him suddenly seemed a relatively safe subject.

"I – I appreciate your excellent explanation" she said in a rather subdued voice "And now I know what I feared most from Mr Gellibrand even if I didn't know why I was fearing it. It is disgusting enough to have to shake his damp and pudgy hand; it feels like shaking hands with an overripe fungus!"

Mortimer gave a wry grin.

"Oh the only ambitions I have so far as Gellibrand and flesh touching flesh are concerned is the prospect of sinking my fist into his blotchy face" he said.

Roberta brightened.

"Well that's something to look forward to" she said. "We really OUGHT to get married so you can defend me from him by doing just that!"

Mortimer laughed.

"Almost tempting" he said. "Now, you have exercises to do; we're tackling climbing now you've the muscle to sustain it."

Roberta had little time to ponder on any embarrassing subjects as Mortimer put her through some gruelling tests and started to teach her the art of climbing, an art that any boy might learn almost by instinct; which instinct was ruthlessly crushed out of a nicely brought up girl as unladylike.

The exercise brought them back to the rapport and camaraderie that had been starting to form before Mortimer realised just how many holes a nice southern belle might have in her education; and by the evening Roberta was chatting animatedly as was her wont; and Mortimer drawing on his pipe – he now felt it safe enough to smoke as his protégé could more easily carry off her imposture – listening in tolerant amusement as she regaled him with tales of her schooldays peppered with ironic asides about the use – or rather lack of it – that she had had from her expensive education.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

The new Amarillo Hotel was painted a bright yellow.

"Garish" remarked Roberta.

"Well as 'Amarillo' means 'Yellow' and the town is dubbed 'The Yellow Rose of Texas' I presume it's a means to make it memorable" said Morimer.

"It's that all right" said Roberta "But not necessarily in a way that's advantageous. Still it looks clean."

Mortimer laughed.

"THAT is the talk of a Lady from back East my infant. This is the pride of Texas; cost forty thousand dollars to build, has two stories, forty rooms, bathrooms – communal I'm afraid – and outside toilets. A showplace."

"And I wager the vaunted facilities are still earth closets and not taking advantage of Thomas Crapper's excellent refinements on the English systems" sighed Roberta who was more interested in the comfort of facilities by now than she was embarrassed about discussing them.

He laughed.

"You'd win that bet" he said.

"The town is such a scar on this pretty valley too" sighed Roberta, glancing back up the valley they were riding down, where cottonwoods and withies nestled along the little stream. The painful newness of so many of the buildings in the town and the haphazard tent city where the railroad grade was being built were indeed almost an affront to the lovely valley.

The corralled cattle added to the noise and confusion that abounded; Amarillo was a permanent stopping point for cattle being transported and a trading post too. The shouts of the men, the noise of the horses working the grinding gears of the grading machinery, the lowing of cattle added to the general shouts and bustle of town life seemed quite deafening.

"Well it's a busy enough place to make it likely to pick up news of work" said Mortimer. "And railway building often attracts some lawless elements; as do cattle. Plenty of opportunity for us to find wanted men and pick up a job or several."

Roberta brightened.

"There is that" she agreed.

"Bless the child, that's why we left our secure, but unprofitable arroyo" said the Colonel "You DID say you wanted to learn the business. And I am rather addicted to eating."

She grinned at him.

"It's one of those things I find I'm addicted to as well" she said. "Can we afford a hotel like that?"

"Oh yes" said Mortimer "Apart from the fact that it's an investment to stay somewhere decent I have my extravagances and my pride."

Once they were installed in a front room of the yellow hotel – and only the quality of the Colonel's clothes persuading the proprietor that he could afford to have such dangerous looking people there - Mortimer sent Roberta out to buy newspapers.

"It'll give us an idea what conversations to listen to in bars" he said "And before we do THAT we'll also mosey on down to the sheriff's office to see if there are any wanted posters."

Roberta suspected that a cosmopolitan man like Mortimer also wanted to catch up on what was going on in the world after having been buried from news training her.

She purchased papers without difficulty; and was stopped on her way back by a lean man in a poncho which may once have been green who looked as though he belonged to the desert they had left; for he looked as though he might as well be made of stone.

In a face that seemed to have been rough-hewn from granite, two slate-grey eyes gave a flinty stare through narrowed lids, puckered and prematurely lined from squinting into a too-bright landscape.

It was inevitable; for the man looked as though the very landscape had spawned him, a rocky outcrop as harsh as the desert itself.

"You're with the Colonel."

It was a statement not a question.

"You worked with him to catch El Indio" Roberta could make statements of her own; and she had seen the picture in the news report.

"Tell you about me did he?" he asked laconically.

"I can make my own deductions" said Roberta.

"Smart kid, eh? He your pa?" asked Manco.

"No; I'm his apprentice" she hesitated "My ma knew his sister."

The man paused to light a noisome looking cigar; and nodded. He evidently understood this as an obligation.

"Are we after the same prey?" he asked.

"Why, did you want in?" asked Roberta.

"You're a cheeky brat. Who are you after?"

"Reckon you might want to talk that over with the boss" said Roberta knowing full well that Mortimer had not yet fixed on a target; but equally certain that saying so would not suit him. "We're keeping our options open."

"Just got into town and not checked out the wanted notices eh? I saw you ride in" said Manco. "Well I may as well come up and say hello – for old times sake."

"And then you can discuss the train robbery at your leisure" nodded Roberta who had managed to get a look at a little more than the headlines in the papers.

An eyebrow went up.

"My mistake; you aren't fishing for jobs" said Manco.

Roberta grinned.

"Come on up" she said, darting coltishly into the hotel.

She entered the room several steps ahead of the tall bounty hunter who had accosted her; the newspaper held in front of her and a finger pointing at the story.

"Boss, your partner from Tucumcari is here to discuss working together over taking the train robbers" she said.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"Hello Manco" said Mortimer "How's it going? I thought you'd have retired on the proceeds of that last venture."

Manco shrugged.

"It isn't about the money" he said.

"The thrill of the chase?" Mortimer knocked out the dottle of his pipe and carefully refilled it. All his concentration seemed to be focussed on that but Roberta had a shrewd idea that he was also reading the article.

Manco ignored the question.

"I thought you and the kid might not have acquired a target yet; until he invited me in on chasing the train robbers" he said. "He says you're keeping your options open though."

"Hmmm" said Mortimer through the stem of his pipe as he struck a match on the wall. It could have been a noise of agreement.

It could just have been the noise a man makes when getting his pipe going.

"Point is, old man" said Manco "D'you reckon you and I – and the kid – can succeed in tracking down Doc Sharp and his gang when a bunch of Indian trackers couldn't find a trail?"

"Run through the facts for the kid; I haven't had a chance to familiarise him yet" said Mortimer.

Roberta grinned at him from the position she had taken quietly at the side of the room. That was clever of the Colonel to get his own familiarisation!

Manco shrugged.

"It goes this way; this gang holds up a train by putting warning detonators on the line; but the only danger it's warning of is them. Masked, they hold up the driver and demand that the Wells Fargo Messenger open up the express car and let them get at the safe or they'll dynamite the car. So there they are with a good big haul and plenty from the mail as well. Well they make the engineer tell them how to drive the locomotive and uncouple it and they drive off towards Albuquerque; and when the loco is discovered, there ain't any tracks around. Seems like they disappeared into thin air. And if even Indians can't find 'em…. Well the reward ain't so great but I kinda have a thing against brigands disappearing into thin air."

Mortimer took a long pull on his pipe and released three smoke rings one after the other.

"Me too" he said.

"Feel like riding out then?" said Manco. "I confess I'd like to see how a gang of eight managed to leave a railway engine without leaving any signs of their leaving."

Mortimer took a pull of his pipe and grinned.

"Did you see the locomotive itself?" he asked.

"No; what was the point?" said Manco.

"Didn't talk to the engineer that drove it back to one end or the other either?" said Mortimer.

"No. Why should I have?" asked Manco looking wary.

Mortimer removed his pipe from his mouth and gestured with it.

"Because I'd be prepared to bet that the lever was thrown into reverse when they found the engine" he said.

"You mean they drove a longer way than people think, got out, put it into reverse and left it to go back until the steam failed for nobody to stoke it?" asked Roberta.

"That's exactly what I do mean" said Mortimer "Unless you're willing to believe they all emulated Daedelus and Icarus and flew away, or maybe had a gas bag and flew by balloon."

"Flying by balloon might be feasible" said Manco "But I never heard of those other fellows you mentioned."

"Ancient Greek legend" said Roberta "Daedalus and his son Icarus were prisoners and they made wings out of beeswax and feathers to fly away but Icarus didn't listen to his father's advice and flew too close to the sun and the wax melted and he fell to his death."

Manco gave her a sideways look.

"Now that's a dodgy story" he said "Sun's millions of miles away; I know that much."

"Well the people that made up the story didn't" said Roberta. "It was an allegory of trusting parental advice I guess. It's only a story but it's an old and well-known one. Must be; my education was pretty poor"

Manco spat the stub of his cigar into the brass spittoon in the corner. It landed with a damp squelch.

"Better than mine son" he said "Learned to read; and how to add up the price of bounties. Don't need no more."

"The point being" said Mortimer with a touch of asperity "As it's highly unlikely that the legendary and impossible actions of Daedalus and Icarus were emulated, and somehow the idea of them lugging the massive weight of a balloon around seems not only highly dubious but unlikely not to have been noticed by the people at the train."

"Balloons don't weigh much do they?" asked Roberta "Or why would they float?"

"Never heaved the washing for your ma?" asked Mortimer.

"Yes" said Roberta.

"Well a balloon has about twenty times as much fabric in it" said Mortimer. "I've seen the abortive attempts the South made at war ballooning as observation platforms. They're unwieldy things until the hot air or hydrogen fill them to make them float and then they're difficult to control. I shouldn't fancy making an impromptu escape with one."

"Okay; the point's taken" said Manco "We ride up the line and see where we might pick up a trail."

"Yup" said Mortimer. "And it's too late to start now; be near dark by the time we get going. We set off before dawn to have all day to travel".

Manco nodded.

"They likely to do you breakfast that early here?" he asked laconically.

"Nope" said Mortimer. "The kid will cook the three of us something and I'll leave a note to have it left on account. I paid up front for the room for a week; they have nothing to complain about."

Manco spat again. The brass rang this time.

"D'ya wanna bet?" he said.

Mortimer laughed.

"Let me then amend the comment to say that they OUGHT to have nothing to complain about" he said.

_A/N __ Based on a real series of train robberies at the time except that the messenger of the first heist with the 'disappearing' robbers had managed to hide the dough. This is fiction and the truth is there to be plagiarised…. Only the names are changed [slightly] to protect the guilty….._


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Roberta had no difficulty coaxing the hotel stove into life. She let Manco in the back and the three of them ate sausage balls, bacon, eggs and thick slices of bread. Roberta did extra bacon and sausage balls and secured the same between slices of bread with butter and mustard and wrapped the sandwiches in greaseproof paper. She wrote a neat accounting of what they had used and left it on the kitchen table.

They also left the washing up.

"Long ride to Tucumcari which will be half way there" commented Manco.

"Ride all the way to Albuquerque? If you want to go that way you can do it alone" said Mortimer. "For my part I was going to ride the train that runs from Fort Worth to Trinidad then get on the main line down to Albuquerque. It's a bit of a roundabout route but quicker and easier to go by Fort Worth and Denver City then Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe than by horseback."

Manco fell silent.

"That's very clever boss; it would not have occurred to me" said Roberta "I was just thinking what a shame it was they were only now grading the railroad that will go on to Albuquerque."

"I don't believe in making extra effort for myself" said the Colonel. "At least there's that rail road in place; saves going three hundred miles north to Wichita and four hundred miles back. And even that would be an improvement."

Manco might not have any comment to make; but he rode north with them.

"How long will it take?" asked Roberta.

"Well now, it's about a hundred and eighty miles to Trinidad" said Colonel Mortimer "And about a hundred and twenty miles back south. The average speed with stops is around forty miles an hour. How long do you make it?"

"four and a half hours plus three" said Roberta "But it depends on the frequency of the trains; if we miss a connection it could still mean two days."

"And a better rate of travel than going cross country two hundred and fifty miles even if we average twenty five miles a day" said Mortimer.

"I should say so" said Roberta. "Why when the railroad has been built all the way it will eat the miles and it will take no time at all!"

"We shall leave THAT rate of travel to the likes of Jules Verne I think" murmured the colonel. "The passenger train leaves Fort Worth at five oh five. It stops just outside of Amarillo where the station is being built to take on fuel and water, where we shall join it, at around ten o'clock. We shall arrive at Trinidad in the middle of the afternoon and we should have an hour to wait to catch a train to Albuquerque. We shall dismount at the stop before Albuquerque, a place called Lamy since by my reading the robbery took place between Lamy and Las Vegas and the train was found between those stations. Therefore we can ride north from Lamy looking for the place it stopped first before being placed in reverse."

Manco nodded.

"Got no complaint with that" he said. "Why did we get up so infernally early?"

"In case they send a freight train through earlier and we can negotiate an earlier ride" said the Colonel imperturbably.

oOoOo

There was no freight train; but the passenger train was well on time and they embarked, leaving their horses in the truck provided just forward of the caboose. Manco settled down in his seat, put his hat over his face, and promptly went to sleep. Roberta had ridden the train before to come east but she was young enough to find rattling through changing scenery interesting and peered out of the window. Mortimer gave her a tolerant smile before he too settled down to catnap.

Even Roberta had lost interest by the time they arrived; though she had found another reason to be pleased that they were not riding, especially in company with Manco. Here on the train the lavatory was a small private place; not like the desert where privacy was harder to find when not wanting to go too far from the camp.

They ate their sandwiches on the train and Roberta offered one to an envious looking child travelling with her mother and a fretful baby.

"Sir, I – I do not permit her to take food from strangers" said the mother. "I did not know it would take so long."

Roberta glanced at Mortimer, who shrugged.

"Come and share with us, ma'am" said Mortimer "I'm Mortimer; the boy is Bobby. My associate" he waved a hand at Manco who pulled a funny face at the little girl. Manco disliked people but he liked children fine well. In his book they had not yet learned to be nasty. He would have scowled if it had only been the woman.

As it was the little girl giggled uncertainly, informed him that her name was Ada and the baby was William.

"You are very good" said the woman "Eva Piper; my husband is on the railroad. I'm joining him with the little ones."

"Well, it's a good job the railmen do" said Bobby. "Will you be going on to Denver?"

"We're going right through to Cheyenne where the tracks are being extended; I know there's supposed to be a long enough delay at Pueblo so we can go to a hotel to get food" said Mrs Piper.

"We get out at Trinidad" said Bobby "I'll leap off and sprint to a hotel and see if I can't get something for the little ones. I'm sure that the Colonel can come up with a way of delaying the driver for a minute or two."

Mortimer sighed.

"Your apprentice is a brat, old man" said Manco. "I'll delay the train. Got a few questions to ask the driver anyroad."

oOoOo

Roberta had no difficulty purchasing some food for the young family while Manco asked the driver questions about how long a locomotive might go without being stoked. The little girl waved shyly as the train pulled out.

"Brave woman" said Roberta "Braving travel with small ones too. I – I don't know what you thought, sir, but I thought that travelling alone she might receive insult in a hotel…. I might be wrong, but it's rougher out here than she's used to."

"Oh you seasoned traveller" laughed Mortimer. "And I don't say you're wrong at that. I talked to the guard while you were buying food and put Mrs Piper into his care. She'll reach Cheyenne safely."

The three did eat in the hotel which was raucous and rowdy, and Roberta thought that if the hotel in Pueblo was anything like it, Mrs Piper would dislike it intensely; it would be a couple of hours before the train they wanted came in. And as Mortimer said, a good meal of sandwiches did not necessarily go far when they had a busy time ahead and a wise soldier or bounty hunter never turned down the chance to fulfil any bodily comforts.

The connection was caught without trouble; and as they led their horses away from the train Manco laconically explained the intelligence he had gained from the engineer he had spoken to.

"Excellently done" said Mortimer. "Another pre-dawn start; same tactic with the hotel but you must reckon up how much we eat and take, Bobby, and we shall leave money. We may not be back this way in a hurry."

"If we leave as much mess as we did in Amarillo that might be a good plan anyway" said Manco dryly.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Lamy was a tiny settlement that had not yet seemed to have realised that with its railroad spur to Santa Fe it was a major rail junction. There was talk of building a hotel but talk was all there seemed to be.

Manco spat out the butt of his cigar.

"Boondocks" he said.

"There's a saloon; it will have to do" said Mortimer. The buildings were few and far between and were either hastily erected board shacks or showed Spanish influence. The saloon was at least a fairly familiar sight and one could probably rely on a room there.

Though getting two rooms was not going to be easy.

Mortimer shrugged. They must shift as best they could; and he would shield Roberta as best as he might.

Indeed they must share a room between them.

"Well the bed will be too cramped; I'll have the floor" said Roberta firmly. That way she would not be too close to either of them; and could use the po more surreptitiously if she needed to; and would be able to hide her face more easily when they did. At least they were only likely to be stripping to their flannel underwear; and she need go no further. It was sufficiently all enveloping that with a bit of help from the Colonel and keeping her back turned she should manage. It was a good job he had made her burn her corset. Quite apart from the comfort. The binding she had devised that she wore on her chest helped to hide things as well as keeping THAT more comfortable.

It was only for one night. In camp they would sleep in their clothes.

oOoOo

By slipping away earlier than the men rose, Roberta managed a quick wash in the stables with a bucket of water drawn from the pump after feeding and watering their mounts; then she started cooking.

"What do you think you're doing you miserable little thief?" the saloon keeper's wife, a big brawny woman, advanced on her.

"Beware who you call thief woman" said Roberta "On the table is my precise accounting for what I'm using. I suggest you keep your vulgar tongue behind your vulgar teeth."

The woman raised a hand to strike Roberta; only to have it seized in a grip of iron and borne forcibly down.

"Touch the boy and I'll see you pay" said Mortimer. "As he says we are making a precise accounting; not expecting to see you up when we left. Indeed" he eyed her voluminous nightgown "I'd say you weren't up yet."

"I came to see who was in the kitchen" she hissed venomously "And how were you planning on paying if you were gone before I was up?"

"Dollars generally do well" said Mortimer coldly. "Ah, you brighten; I think I will send you to rouse your husband. I shouldn't like to pay YOU and then find that HE cries thief on us because it stuck to your fingers."

"How dare you say I would steal?" she cried.

Mortimer gave her an unpleasantly reptilian smile.

"With more justification I am sure than you miscall the boy" he said. "Go get him up."

"I'm not leaving" said the woman "I want to see exactly what you're eating not rely on the scarcely literate scrawl of some guttersnipe."

Mortimer picked up Roberta's beautiful copper-plate account.

"My!" he said "Your Majesty is obviously so far above an educated young man that you consider the product of education to be scarcely literate; I am so sorry we did not recognise your royal presence here."

The woman could see the accounting now; and flushed.

"She's mighty good at jumping to conclusions" said Roberta.

" I'll go rouse the beerslinger" said Manco. "He won't like it" he added, giving the woman a nasty look.

" Into each life some rain must fall" said Mortimer grinning impishly.

Roberta proceeded to dish up breakfast and had finished when Manco returned with a sleepy landlord in his underwear. Manco had evidently explained that the man's wife had given them no reason to repose any trust in her, for he glared at her. Roberta passed him the accounting; and Mortimer counted out gold dollars.

Roberta then wrapped up sandwiches.

"Ain't ya going to clear up?" demanded the woman.

"If you can read" said Roberta sweetly "You'll see I added a service charge; which covers the clearing up. Cheerio; we shan't be coming back and we won't recommend you."

oOoOo

It had been raining; and a rainbow stretched its glorious arch over the distant Rocky Mountains as the sun rose up into the sky. The morning was damp and fresh and the ground more green than brown with the freshly watered shrubs.

"Not so much a pot of gold to be found at the end of it but maybe a pot of stolen bills" said Roberta gaily.

"Well to all appearances the foot of it must nestle about the place Manco calculated that the train reversed from" said Mortimer.

"Well I don't believe in omens" said Manco "Preparation beats it any time."

The rainbow of course appeared to recede when they moved towards it but by and by they came close to where Manco had determined might be the place the robbers had dismounted. They descended into a small valley running up into the hills that grew into the Rockies.

"Thought so" grunted Manco. "Perfect place. Look up to the grade."

Only a culvert was needed for this small stream; and scars on the grade showed where several people had scrambled down with more haste than care. Straggly weeds clinging tenaciously to a precarious position had been pulled out by hasty heels and lay wilted and dead.

There were hoof tracks in the mud by the stream bed.

"Someone met them with horses" said Mortimer.

"Yup" said Manco.

"Tough to follow after all this time" said Roberta. "Especially after rain."

"Tough but not impossible" said Mortimer. "This is one of the things Manco excels at. And I'm better than most."

"They're also more likely to be careless" said Manco.

"Having thought out a way to throw followers off the scent with the loco; yes I see that" said Roberta "Shouldn't they have ridden the horses single file down the centre of the stream? Apart from here, they approached like that, came out of the stream and the prints are heavier; that's when they were mounted"

Manco nodded.

"You read it good, kid" he said.

"And unless it's another bluff rode off in a gaggle. Very foolish" said Mortimer. "You think it might be another ruse, Manco?"

Manco considered.

He chewed on his cigar and spit the end out.

"Nope" he said.

"Why not sir?" asked Roberta. He gave her a jaundiced look.

"If y'must call me anything kid, Manco does as well as any handle" he said. "Because crooks can be clever but never that clever."

"Why?" asked Roberta.

Manco glared.

"Steady kid; you've already made him use up a fortnight's quota of words" said Mortimer.

"Think that's funny, huh, old man?" said Manco.

"Yes" said Mortimer.

Manco snorted.

"If they were real smart" he said "They'd do their crookery as lawyers or real estate agents all legal."

"That makes a lot of sense" said Roberta who was beginning to interpret all the things Manco did not say "They feel dead clever in finding a way to hoodwink authority and assume that nobody's clever enough to figure it out – because they're cleverer than any of the low life types that crooks are forced to associate with, so they figure they're cleverer than anyone and so fail to take reasonable precaustion."

"What I said" said Manco.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

After putting the railroad well behind them the tracks turned south. Broken vegetation showed up more clearly against the green verdant growth that followed the rain; careless hoofprints might be found in softer soil; a silvery smear of iron on a stone.

"Mexico?" asked Roberta.

"El Paso" said Mortimer "It's a big place – ten thousand or so, many of them pretty lawless. They don't call it the Six Shooter Capital for nothing. Gambling, prostitution, hired guns; you name it."

"We going to follow them all the way?" said Manco.

"No guarantee they didn't ride south of Albuquerque and board a train like regular people" said Mortimer. "We got the sketches from the newspapers. We may as well ride the train all the way. It's several days hard ride, let alone at tracking speed."

Manco grunted agreement.

"I suppose I expected them to hide out in a secret cave in the desert away from people" said Roberta "But amongst all those people I suppose they would be pretty anonymous!"

"It's what they'll count on" said Mortimer "Besides, it's a good place to lollygag about and spend their ill gotten gains. Most people are lazy; show them a wanted poster and if they saw the man on it half an hour later, chances are they wouldn't recognise him; because they couldn't be bothered to recall the face; or because they didn't want to recognise him because it means too much trouble. That's why there's work for us; because if every joe on the street used his eyes we'd be out of a job."

oOoOo

It was another train ride away.

"I feel like Yankee Doodle" said Roberta when they got off and walked into the hubbub that was El Paso.

"Unable to see the town, there are too many houses?" said Mortimer with the ghost of a smile. "You've passed through places as large."

"Passed through. That's different" said Roberta "Not had to search for a needle in a haystack or a bandit in a boarding house. And I think the heat makes it seem bigger, and louder."

"That's a point" said Mortimer.

"Let's get us some rooms first; then we can think better" said Manco.

"At least there should be a little more choice here than in Lamy" said Roberta dryly. "And I had a thought, boss; if those men have changed their appearance might it not be worth while to spend a little time sketching them with beards or without them?"

"A good point" said Mortimer. "The kid can draw" he said to Manco, who had raised an eyebrow.

"There's a joke waiting to be made about being quick on the draw" murmured Roberta "But somehow I fancy I should pass on quickly and not make it."

"Wise decision" said Manco.

Mortimer's brown eyes crinkled in a half smile to her.

Manco raised an eyebrow at Mortimer's decision to stay at an expensive hotel; and took himself off to find a cheaper boarding house.

"More leads" he said.

"Louder nights" shrugged Mortimer.

Roberta certainly appreciated being in a hotel that was likely to be quieter and less rowdy than the sort Manco considered good for leads; the time for frequenting rowdy spots was when actually looking for the bandits.

"Life and work need separation" she opined to the Colonel.

He nodded.

"You and I are used to the finer things in life, Bobby; I certainly have learned to get what rest I can even in low dives, but it's worth being comfortable enough to have all our wits about us for decent rest. And besides, I'd rather not have you in the sort of place where the more importunate prostitutes are going to find it a challenge to get a handsome young man into their beds and won't take no for an answer."

"I hadn't considered that" said Roberta "Are there a lot here?"

Mortimer gave a wry laugh.

"This is the place most of the vice in the whole of America fetches up sooner or later. Drinking, whoring and gambling are the major occupations here – with the odd gunfight to ring the changes of the entertainment."

"I think I'll stick close to you, sir" said Roberta "It sounds a bit terrifying."

"Oh believe me, some of the harridans are" said Mortimer. "Harpies aspiring to be Erinyes I assure you."

The hotel had a room for gambling but it was quiet and discreet.

They were handed a slip with the hotel requests – rules by another name – on it, mostly along the lines of settling any differences outside and not annoying other guests; which had a written note at the bottom to be aware that the border to Mexico was closed and quarantined owing to Yellow Fever.

Mortimer grunted.

"Well if they thought to slip over the border if anyone came close to them they're in for a disappointment" he said.

"Unless they already went over before it was closed" said Roberta.

"A point" said Mortimer "SONNY!" he called to the youth who had registered them "How long has the border been closed?"

"A matter of three weeks sir" he said.

"Thank you" said Mortimer. "Well, they are that much ahead of us; so it's possible. But I think unlikely. I doubt they'd resist submerging themselves into the entertainment to be found here; because the average bandit likes his pleasures quick and easy. It's why he steals to get them."

Roberta nodded; that made sense.

They settled in to their room and Roberta occupied herself copying the artists' impressions of the bandits with more or less facial hair to give them as wide a variation of appearance as she might.

"Assuming" as she said gloomily "The original pictures were close at all."

"Fortunately one of the rail men recognised a couple of the robbers as having held up a train previously; and their known associates had been depicted before too" said Mortimer. "You're doing a good job there; we'll eat and then we'll go call in some of the seventy odd saloons this town possesses."

"I think I am just numbed" said Roberta in resignation "not so long ago I'd have wondered if there were enough people in the world to drink so much liquor as could be contained in so many saloons!"


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

The saloons were louder than any Roberta had yet been in with the Colonel; games of cards and dice more prevalent, and there were a plethora of ladies whose virtue was so much more relaxed than the adjective easy could describe adequately that Roberta wondered why they actually bothered to get dressed – or what passed for dressed – between clients.

One of the card players seemed to take offence that Roberta refused to join him and his fellows for a game.

"What's wrong with ya kid, go to Sunday School or sump'n?" he growled.

"You have something against Sunday School?" said Roberta.

"Yeah, plenty" said the man with a snarl. "If you ain't playin' what you doing here?"

"I'm looking for someone" said Roberta.

"Well you found me, kid. Play or get out."

"I'll make a bet with you" said Roberta "But not at YOUR game."

"Yeah? Wassat?" he demanded.

Roberta smiled.

"I bet if you don't stop hassling me that pack of cards in your hand is going to have a hole through it" she said.

"Aw, shucks, what crap is that? Siddown kid!" said the man advancing on her menacingly.

Roberta was not in the same league as Mortimer or Manco; but the target was close and slow moving.

And she had the speed of youth and the ability to draw fast that Mortimer had taught her.

The detonation of her own Buntline – the Colonel had seen fit to have her equipped similarly to him – was horribly loud indoors; and the man yelped as her bullet nicked the web of his thumb after passing through the pack of cards.

"I don't play cards" said Roberta returning her gun to its accustomed place across her belly in imitation of the way Mortimer wore his.

"Where'd ya learn to carry your gun like that kid?" asked another man sharply.

"From my…uncle" said Roberta "He taught me to shoot too."

"Solly you fool" said the second speaker "You're only trying to pick a quarrel with someone trained by the best shot in the Carolinas. You carry on kid and ignore him; he's drunk, that's what it is."

Roberta nodded and passed on.

Having a reputation like Colonel Mortimer's had its uses; though if it got about too far their birds might skip town.

"Having fun?" asked Mortimer coming over.

This was the sort of saloon where a shot drew attention briefly then everyone went about their business if there were no obvious fire fight going on.

"No" said Roberta "Was I supposed to?"

"I guess not" said Mortimer.

"Colonel, sir!" the second speaker got up and came over "You won't remember me; Corporal Ned Hackley. I served with you."

"One of the best scavengers we had as I recall" said Mortimer "Well Hackley, how's life?"

"Oh so-so, sir" said Hackley "Still mooching, cadging and fixing, information brokering and a little bit of gambling on the side; I bet on the odds, see, it doesn't bring the big wins but it means I win more than I lose."

Mortimer nodded.

"Judging by your shoes it does you well enough."

Hackley grinned.

"Well I do pretty well for myself" he said. "See, I don't get the buzz outa gambling; it's just a job."

Mortimer nodded.

"You always were the shrewdest man I had under me" he said. "Can I pay you for some information?"

"Colonel, sir, if you'd give me the honour of drinking with me, any information I can help you with is on the house!" said Hackley shocked. "I heard you'd turned to bounty killing; we got someone you're after here?"

Mortimer passed him copies of the pictures.

"Nice piece of work changing them" Hackley said.

"That's the kid's work" said Mortimer.

"Talented lad, your nephew" said Hackley. "And makes me hesitate less. I seen that one and that one" he stabbed a finger at two of the pictures "The rest I wouldn't swear to; they hang out in a gaming dive on the south side of Downtown. Place called Fat Bob's. I do the rounds" he added "Gives people time to forget me."

Mortimer laughed.

"Hackley, that's excellent intelligence; you shouldn't turn down pay for it" he said.

"Colonel, sir, you got us all out of more than one tight spot" said Hackley "If it wasn't for you I shouldn't even BE here; and anything I can do for you and yours I will, yes SIR!"

"You're a good man, Hackley" said Mortimer, shaking the man's hand.

The pair went in search of Manco having decided to work their way down opposite sides of the street and methodically cover every saloon, street by street.

Manco had evidently managed to irritate someone in the last bar he had entered because there were several people groaning and one unconscious, Manco grinning in grim satisfaction and nursing his knuckles while the girls screamed shrilly.

"Having fun?" Mortimer addressed him in much the same ironic tone with which he had asked the same question as he had previously asked Roberta.

"You could say so" said Manco. "He wanted to leave without paying the girl. His friends reckoned they constituted an argument on his behalf. I disagreed" and he bent to extract the wallet of the unconscious one, extracted some bills and tossed them to one of the prostitutes before putting the wallet back.

The other men were coming to enough to ensure that their friend would not be rolled; and Manco, seeing that Mortimer had news followed him out.

Mortimer gave a grim smile.

"We were lucky enough to run into an old soldier who knew me back in the old days" he said "We've a target to check out in a place called Fat Bob's over to the south of Downtown. And I should think they might be ready to be planning another heist."

"I get your drift old man" said Manco. "one on the inside, two on the outside?"

"Only way it can work" said Mortimer.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

"I don't shave" said Roberta – with perfect truth it has to be said – "So I could dress as a woman, a respectable woman so it doesn't show how much there isn't to show" she blushed "And maybe make like my husband was killed grading the railway and be bitter about them."

"Bobby" said Mortimer affectionately, removing the pipe from his mouth to gesture "Any woman who went into a dive like that might go in respectable but she wouldn't remain that way. A lone woman without a husband as a protector would be fair game; and the clientele would be game for rape. And a lad dressed as a woman would be likely killed" he added. He hardly needed to point out that the rape would be going ahead when they found her to be a young and nubile girl under any widow's weeds.

"He's right" said Manco. "I was on the inside last time; reckon it might be your turn, old man."

"I believe it is" said Mortimer. "And the cover story is that I am a clerk late of Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe; drinking confusion to them because I was sacked for a small error when, as pay clerk, I miscounted some figures. In other words I was fiddling the books – which makes me a crook to start off with, so attractive to them. I also have knowledge at my finger tips of how much pay goes out and on which trains. Starting to look like good bait?"

"Starting to look irresistible" said Manco, who was lying on the bed in the hotel room Mortimer had hired. "I could get used to your bed, old man."

"I like sybaritic luxury" said Mortimer. "Don't get too used to it however; you're going to case the joint for me before I go in to join the gang and let me know anything I need to know. The kid stays outside; watching the back entrance. He's too much of an innocent and that might blow cover."

Manco nodded; and Roberta looked chagrined.

She acknowledged that the colonel was correct however.

Mortimer had memorised enough railway timetables that he could sound like an employee of the AT&SF Railway; and he sat down to work out how many people might work for the railway in the section of rail south of Santa Fe – in which office he was to declare himself to have worked – to give some idea of how much was likely to be carried.

It was certainly enough to be tempting for any train robbers. Where the casual labourers on the new grades might be paid in company scrip the regular employees were paid in cash. The payroll for those on just a short section of line was quite staggering; and the idea of knowing exactly which day it would be carried under the guard of a messenger of the Wells Fargo company would be something no robber could pass up.

The story that Mortimer concocted sounded plausible enough; that the wages were made up monthly but were paid two weeks in arrears on the fourteenth of the next month. It was the sort of thing big businesses did, to claw in as much interest as they might from the banks before paying out what was owed. It also gave room for firing on the spot and the wages made up to the precise day.

Mortimer also made up a tale of how he had managed to supposedly defraud the company by making his 'mistakes' on the cents column, that nobody checked as carefully, failing to carry forward all the full dollars made by the addition. A small but significant addition to a humble clerk's income.

Adding to that a supposed fatal attraction to gambling that would make him ripe to look for a quick return would – he hoped – soon make the gang want to know him better.

oOoOo

Armed with such intelligence as Manco had obtained of the layout of Fat Bob's and the confirmation that all the birds of a feather had indeed flocked together there, Colonel Douglas Mortimer, dressed in a now slightly old fashioned but eminently respectable charcoal grey sack suit that had seen better days and a low derby rather than his usual grandee hat. His tie was quiet and respectable, neither the string tie that he wore in a bow nor the wide flamboyant tie he sometimes affected; and his vest was single breasted with an extra row of covered buttons to look as though it had the extra material in it to be double breasted. Somehow, although his normal frock coat was a touch conservative, the new costume made the Colonel look much shabbier even without the cloth being well enough worn to be shiny. And the plain woollen notched collar vest was a far cry from a double breasted shawl collared brocade one that was his usual taste.

That the border was closed was to his advantage; that he was supposedly heading south half a step ahead of a company detective who wanted the company money back and was stymied at the border made a good story; seduced into a game of cards which he managed to lose from a position of strength and subsequently drowning his sorrows he played a convincing part. And Manco, quietly winning at another table, watched the gang as at first they ignored the supposed loser, then listen as he poured out his story to the barkeep, then buy him drinks to get him to talk more.

Drunk or sober the supposed clerk was not about to give away his knowledge for free; and soon found himself drawn into Doc Sharp's gang with his encyclopaedic knowledge of the railway timetables as his bargaining chip.

The bounty on the gang should be payable anywhere; but the closer they could get them to Albuquerque the more likely the bounty was to be recognised. Fortunately the gang recognised the concept that the further north they went the more booty they would get as it would diminish at every stop to pay one or more railway clerks; and certainly they had to go north of Rincon where the line divided and which was, as a busy junction, likely to take a significant amount of the wages itself let alone the wage packs dividing to go along the two lines. Rincon was some hundred miles north of El Paso; and riding the train there tickled the humour of the bandits. They promised Mortimer a horse and some more suitable clothes; and bore him off with them to keep an eye on their acquisition before anyone else got wise to his supposed inside knowledge.

oOoOo

Mortimer had insisted on paying Ned Hackley to provide him with surveyors' maps of the grading of the railroad; and Manco and Roberta knew exactly where he would be headed with the bandits; where they would set up an ambush.

"How many things can go wrong that we should prepare for?" Roberta asked Manco as they boarded an early train to be sure to be in position well ahead of schedule; the next day being the fourteenth of the month and chosen for that reason to suit their own timing. Manco shifted his cigar from one corner of his mouth to the other.

"Plenty" he said. "The old man might be found out and killed. Or they decide to wait for next month. Or they decide to hit the train sooner than the place he's chosen."

"That's why he was going to draw a map; make them choose the only logical place" said Roberta "Working on the principle that Doc Sharp is a meticulous man who might even get large scale maps for himself. Of course if they go a stop further and ride back from San Marcial we might well be sunk."

Manco spat the cigar butt out.

"Train'll go past. If they're still on it the old man will let us know" he said.

Roberta nodded.

"Yes; you're quite right" she said. "He'll find a way. Tell me, Manco, does the Elephant Butte look that much like an elephant to you?" she asked as they passed the landmark.

"Nope" said Manco. "But then I never saw an elephant. Did you?"

"Only in pictures" said Roberta.

oOoOo

The canyon of the Rio Grande was harsh and rocky at any distance from the river; there were canyons in plenty that might hide an army of bandits. Mortimer had indicated one that came close to the line of the railroad that would do to conceal the gang whilst providing them with an easy climb to a lookout post to watch for a train. It had a spur to it that would equally well conceal Manco and Roberta who would ambush the ambushers.

There was a lot that could go wrong; but Roberta had every faith in Colonel Mortimer's ability to lead the bandits into doing exactly what he wanted them to do.

She worried about him however; alone in a bunch of murderous and desperate men, without his accustomed weapon, wearing a colt six shooter awkwardly like a tenderfoot after the manner of a man in a dangerous town who feels he ought to be armed and is more afraid of the weapon than of the men he might have to use it on.

He also carried a derringer in the back waistband of his trousers; and a second one taped to his calf under his trouser leg. Each had only two shots; but Roberta knew that for the Colonel that meant four dead men even if he had his six shooter taken from him. It had every chance of success.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Roberta lay on a rock overlooking both the railroad and the rest of the valley. She had a lightweight sheet over her that she had scrubbed well in the local mud; it kept the sun off her head and helped her blend into the rocky landscape. The sheet was raised on sticks to permit such little breeze as there was to caress her body. Above the sheet the relentless sun beat down like hammer blows from a ruthlessly cloudless pewter sky; and Roberta was glad of a full canteen of water. There was at least a cold sweet stream in the canyon; they did not have to conserve water.

The steam of the train was the first thing that was visible, a ragged trail of broken white against the glaring sky, hard to see with the sun high in the sky right in front of her. She used the colonel's telescope to bring it nearer. Yes, it was the passenger train.

What might the Colonel do if he were on it?

Well likely he would wait until he was nearer – perhaps if he was watched he would draw the attention of his current confederates to the place and lean out of the window.

And he would probably take the opportunity to lose the ugly Derby that did not suit him. Roberta kept her eye on the train; it passed without incident.

Well, either he was prevented from making sign or they had got out where they were supposed to.

It was a two hour ride at least to reach this canyon; in two hours they would know if the bandits were coming or not. Roberta wriggled out from under her protective sheet, wincing as the sun's heat assaulted her as she was putting her hat back on; and scrambled down into the welcome shade that was minimal but at least deliciously cool. She took the opportunity to empty the canteen over the back of her neck, as the water was now unpleasantly warm, and refill it at the little waterfall of a stream that trickled down the canyon wall, cupping her hand to take a drink at the same time.

"No sign?" asked Manco. He had heard the train of course and seen its tell-tale plume of smoke.

"Nope" Roberta decided that she could be as laconic as him.

He grinned.

"Take a kip, kid" he said "I'll take a heads up from time to time. May as well rest."

She nodded thanks; and scringed her slender body into the shade with her head on her pack. She was learning to sleep when and where she might; it was a skill a bounty hunter needed.

oOoOo

She slept for an hour and a half; and woke of her own accord, proud that she was learning to wake after a set time. Manco was looking down at her with a curious look on his face.

"Well you're learning the ropes" he said "I was about to wake you. 'F I was you I'd learn not to talk in my sleep."

"What – er what did I say?" said Roberta.

He shrugged.

"Enough to make me wonder one of two things about you" he said. "Either way ain't my business; but 'f I was you I'd bear it in mind."

"You can be infuriating, Manco" said Roberta. He shrugged.

That was his full answer.

He WAS infuriating.

Roberta splashed her face in the cool stream, took a long drink, and climbed up the rock.

She took advantage of being out of Manco's sight to duck behind another rock and relieve herself quickly. One never knew; he might decide to join her.

There was the faintest of clouds low on the horizon to the south; the telescope made it clearer. It was no cloud; it was disturbed dust and that could be seen long before horses came into view. She stuck her head over the canyon and whistled.

Manco waved that he had heard. The whistle meant that she had seen something. Manco would ready the horses now; and presently she would climb down and join him in the spur to the canyon. Before the approaching horses were close enough for the sounds of her climbing to carry if they slowed right down.

She hunkered down under the sheet; it would be half an hour before she would be able to make out much. It was a little cooler now but not much; she must make sure and not let the sleep she had taken overcome her again.

It did not; she was too concerned for the safety of Douglas Mortimer.

She had an uncomfortable feeling that she had dreamed about him because of her concern. What had she said?

Well Manco did not care; he had said as much. Odd sort of man, Manco.

And then they were close enough; and she had the telescope up, her vision slightly obscured with the finest and transparent of muslin handkerchiefs over the end; it would stop the glass flashing in the sun it was pointing towards. It was a trick the Colonel had brought out of the war; and it might keep him safe.

Roberta scanned each of the horsemen; it was hard to pick out faces under wide brimmed hats; if the Colonel was there evidently they had made him change his hat for a more practical one. He would not have been displeased. She might not be able to see faces; but she would know the tall figure of Colonel Mortimer anywhere from his body language and the way he rode. He had decided not to pretend that he could not ride well; that was an imposture that was too hard to carry off. His story – if asked – was that he had been a supply sergeant in the War Between the States and he had done a lot of riding. It would account for the ability of those used to travel long distances to slouch half sleeping in the saddle; a very distinctive way of riding. It was distinctive to lawmen, bounty hunters, bandits, horse thieves and cowboys; and other ranks in the army who travelled a lot.

Well he was there; he seemed to be at large and no prisoner; and he looked unhurt.

Roberta scrambled down. The time had come to set their own ambush.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

The bandits were clever and shrewd – up to a point. They were also very self satisfied, and the trick with the locomotive had left them mightily complaisant with their own abilities to put one over the authorities. Mortimer found very little difficulty in leading them to make exactly the decisions he wanted them to make; and they all duly travelled out by train to San Marcial. They had made him buy secondhand clothing to blend more with their own look; as Doc Sharp said, the wide brimmed hat was more effective against the sun anyway. Mortimer was not displeased to shed the disguise though he made sure to keep pulling nervously at his gun belt.

As luck would have it, Doc Sharp purchased a map from Hackley; and before Mortimer had changed his clothes. The fixer did not even show recognition to his former colonel, something Mortimer was grateful for.

They had taken the train out, with horses, and proceeded to ride out once they had arrived at San Marcial. Mortimer was alert to see any sign that they were being watched; was there the faintest of sparkles on that high butte that concealed the canyon? He could not be sure. Well, if he who was looking for watchers could not see them, Roberta and Manco were well concealed. Assuming they had got there without mishap.

Well if they had not he must go along with the robbery on the morrow and be utterly amazed that the monthly pay chest was NOT travelling in the caboose.

Whilst worrying about what had occurred.

Time to worry if they did not appear in the canyon.

Doc Sharp laughed.

"Nervous, clerk?" he jeered.

"I – yes a little" said Mortimer.

"We'll take care of the strong arm stuff – and any killing" said Doc. "We know how to kill; we killed that guard who wanted to defend money that wasn't even his, the fool! It's better just to frighten them of course, but you do what you have to do. It's the way it goes."

"I- yes, right" said Mortimer.

Doc laughed at this squeamish-appearing man.

"What was so great about you that you got to be a sergeant?" he demanded.

"Good at stealing" said Mortimer. "My officer made me up to sergeant so I shouldn't get trouble; because I could always see he got better rations."

"And you spent the war hiding under bushes, sneaking into houses and the only fighting you did was in the blankets with any pretty girl regardless of what side she was on?" said the Doc, half in amusement and half in contempt.

"I – I never raped any girl" said Mortimer working on not grinding his teeth.

"No? Oh well, you really are a total worm then" said the Doc.

He never knew quite how close he was to death; and how the man he was taunting lowered his eyes not in shame but to hide the blaze of hatred. This one was not insane as El Indio had been but he was ruthless and cruel just the same. Mortimer would have no trouble bringing him down.

There were those robbers who avoided killing; who were even courteous enough in a rough sort of way. And then there were the scum of the earth.

oOoOo

The bandits and Mortimer rode into the canyon; and the Doc surveyed it.

"Not a bad place to have to wait" he said "Even water available. Ideal. Good; let's set up camp" and with that he swung off his horse, the others following suit. Mortimer did not dismount.

"Okay if you'd like to get your hands up we can do this the easy way" said Manco.

The wanted poster said dead or alive; having them able to walk would make life easier.

The Bandits, staring at the direction from which the voice had come, saw only a man and a boy ride out of a side canyon; and predictably went for their guns.

"Make my job harder, why don't you" murmured Manco, fanning his pistol with deadly efficiency. Roberta joined him in firing, if with less efficiency.

Mortimer did his part from behind; and felt no compunction in so doing considering what he had learned of the ways of Doc and his villains.

One of the bandits however had managed to get off a lucky shot; and Mortimer picked out the high cry of pain that was in Roberta's voice; and when he had finished shooting glanced at her. She held her hand to her chest and a red blossom of blood grew on her shirt.

Mortimer swore. A quick glance told him that there was no immediate threat; and he kicked his heels into the horse to bring him to her side where she swayed in her own saddle.

"You check we made a thorough job, boy; I'll see to the kid" he said to Manco. Manco raised an eyebrow; spat out his cigar end and nodded.

"Douglas…. Am I going to die? It hurts a very great deal" gasped Roberta.

"I'll have to cut away your shirt to see" said Mortimer grimly "I will not be disrespectful."

"Please…. Just fix it" said Roberta "And…. if you can't you will tell me?"

"I will" he said.

"For what it's worth" said Roberta as he helped her off her horse and laid her down in the shade "It's been worth it."

"Roberta, if it's in my power I will not let you die" said the Colonel, deftly cutting her shirt away.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Manco hitched a buttock onto a projecting rock while Mortimer probed for the bullet.

"She going to make it?" he asked.

"You guessed huh, boy?" said Mortimer. Manco shrugged.

"Figured that had to be the explanation for some things" he said. "Don't reckon no-one else'd figure it though."

"Looks like the bullet's not gone anywhere too deep" said Mortimer. "Why don't you take the bodies to Albuquerque and bring me back some medical supplies? I'd rather not move the kid."

"I don't think they want to get up and walk" said Manco.

"So? Just stop the train" said Mortimer "They should be pleased to have dead train robbers not live ones."

Manco spat.

"Just as you say, old man" he said.

oOoOo

"The bullet went through your breast, Roberta" said Mortimer as he cleaned and dressed the wound "Doesn't seem to have hit anything vital; it fetched up against a rib but it hasn't broken up; I got the whole bullet out. It'll be sore and you may have a fever but you should recover totally."

"Does it look bad?" asked Roberta.

"It looks as much of a mess as any bullet wound" said Mortimer "Does it look like it's going to be causing you any trouble? No. I'm going to sew it up; I'll have to take the stitches out in a week or so. But it'll be best."

"You know what you're doing" said Roberta. She did not want to die; having an ugly scar must be lived with. Right now she just wanted it to stop hurting so much. The brandy Mortimer poured on it stung enough to make her cry out and pass out; for which he was thankful when it came to sewing the wound. It would hurt her less if she was in a swoon.

And when Roberta came to, it was to a dull ache. The colonel's flask was beside her.

"Drink a swig of brandy if the pain gets too much" he said. "It won't do you any good; but it will help you not to notice the pain."

"Horrid stuff" said Roberta making a face. "At least it is if it tastes anything like it smells."

He laughed.

"I rather like it" he said.

"Where's Manco?" asked Roberta curiously.

"He took the train" said Mortimer. "Quite a treat to watch; he used the detonators from the bandits to tell the driver to stop; and when they did he told 'em calm as you like that he had freight to load. So when they shouted at him that this wasn't a scheduled freight pick up he whips the blanket off the bodies and mentions that being stopped and held up wouldn't have been scheduled either and wouldn't they rather do it his way than the way the bandits had planned. They capitulated around then. He'll collect on the bounty and share it out. After he's got me some more field dressings and another bottle of brandy."

"I – did I dream that he guessed?" said Roberta.

"He won't talk" said Mortimer "What's more he's fought beside you; seen you in action. You accounted for one of them and wounded another. He'll give respect where it's due; he won't treat you any differently."

"Good" said Roberta. "Well it's just as well I can make my way as a boy; because even if I wanted to, no man is going to want to marry me with an ugly scar."

"Roberta, don't talk rubbish" said Mortimer. "Any man who loved you would love you for yourself – and would appreciate such a scar as a proof of your bravery."

"But men always talk to the bar girls about their perfect globes; doesn't being perfect matter?" Roberta asked blushing.

"No" said Mortimer. "Those girls, poor things, have nothing but their usually rather er extensive assets with which to make their way in the world. And the sort of men who go with them have only limited abilities to appreciate feminine pulchritude and only limited ideas about what constitutes the same. You are…. You are a lot more than them. Now try to get some sleep; I don't want you turning feverish on me!"

Roberta obediently shut her eyes. She thought that the pain might prevent her from sleeping; but the trauma had exhausted her and she drifted off into a doze. Mortimer regarded her tenderly. She was as game as they made them!

oOoOo

Roberta slept through the night and felt better enough in the morning to be faintly embarrassed that Colonel Mortimer had of necessity been touching her rather intimately; but he chatted cheerfully through breakfast of how to read the landscape, making her repeat lessons he had taught her when they had first gone into the wilderness together and she soon lost her shyness and spoke eagerly of the green smudge that showed up from some distance to indicate the presence of water and that whilst weeds at the edge were green and healthy the water was unlikely to contain anything like lead or antimony or any mineral that could be poisonous; or at least not in dangerous quantities.

Manco returned half way through the morning having stopped the train by the expedient of pulling the communication cord.

"Heard it worked for you, old man" he said.

"Won't they fine you?" asked Roberta "It's for emergencies."

"So? I told 'em one of my buddies was wounded fighting brigands to save THEM; and I needed medical supplies for my partner. They agreed it was an emergency" said Manco, not troubling to mention that the sight of his guns had unnerved the engineer and guard sufficiently that they had been happy to take his explanation.

"I'm a lot better" said Roberta.

"And not fully well" said Mortimer "You've a flush that tells me you have a slight fever; and the dressing should be changed daily. I can tell you how to do it if you wish; until I have to take the stitches out."

Roberta acquired more of a flush than could be accounted for by fever; and swallowed hard and nodded. It would be less embarrassing to do it herself!

Even if it might not be unpleasant to have the colonel's competent fingers deftly performing the operation.

Manco nodded.

"'F you want to tell me about why you're being a boy that's fine; but you don't flinch. I'm happy with you as a partner eitherwise" he said.

"Well as you are the Colonel's friend I guess I don't mind you knowing" said Roberta "You know about his sister?"

Manco nodded briefly.

Roberta outlined her story.

Manco spat out his inevitable cigar.

"Seems to me I've heard the name Gamaliel Gellibrand before; it ain't a name you can forget easy" he said.

"Indeed?" the Colonel leaned forward.

"Well" Manco considered "The story goes this way. I took in a couple of smugglers; and one of the things they were doing was passing off the gold they was paid as gold from a mine owned – according to the crates - by this here Gamalial Gellibrand. It's my guess he was financing the smuggling; but I hadn't an interest in following that up and the schmoes got stupid and tried to escape; so they wound up not able to talk to no lawman. But they tried to interest me in some real gold mine this Gellibrand was hoping to find; some mine out west, supposed to have been the Superstition Mountains over in Arizona. Some fellow called Jacob Walz is supposed to have stolen it from some big Mexican family and killed his partner over it. Well I've never been one to think that shovelling rock was a good idea so I laughed. But if this is the same fellow…."

"I can't say I put much credence in a gold mine story" said Mortimer "But if there's smuggling involved in it, and it can be brought home to Gellibrand – he always was greedy – I could maybe get my home back!"

Manco laughed.

"You wouldn't stay there, old man; you're too fond of the peripatetic life."

"Maybe; but it's the principle" said Mortimer.

"Besides if we can legitimately shoot him he can't marry me" said Roberta "Because he'll be dead. And even if we don't shoot him, he'll be in gaol and that would be very nice. And I'd visit him with flowers."

"All right you minx, I'll buy" said Mortimer.

"Poison ivy" said Roberta.

oOoOo

They camped in the canyon because Mortimer did not want Roberta subjected to the strain of riding any distance; and the AT&SF were going to get irritable, he said, if they stopped the train to their own convenience too often. They discussed the perfidy of Gamaliel Gellibrand and decided that if he was looking for a gold mine in the Superstition Mountains they might look for him looking; and moreover the more lawless West would be the best place to be organising border crossings than somewhere relatively well policed as in El Paso. They might take the train from Rincon on the other line from the one that went to El Paso to a town called Benson and then follow, said Manco, whose knowledge of the terrain was as encyclopaedic as Mortimer's knowledge of the trains, the Oro Valley north to Phoenix which was a good base from which to look for both smugglers and gold hunters.

"And once we know what we might find we can plan better" said Mortimer.

"My thoughts exactly, old man" said Manco.

oOoOo

Roberta was nervous about having the stitches removed. Manco took himself to a respectful distance to see to the horses, he said.

"Are you scared, Roberta?" asked Mortimer.

"Not really" said Roberta "I expect it will hurt but not as much as the wound did."

"I wondered because I fancied you were trembling" said Mortimer kindly.

"I – I am afraid that it is too ugly" said Roberta flushing "I know that is perhaps foolish when I have been so lucky….." moreover the thought of his fingers on her skin made her feel rather pleasant inside; and for some reason that made her body tremble uncontrollably.

"But you are young and lovely and do not want to be marked, hmm?" he asked. "Let me get the pain over….."

Roberta bared her breast and he deftly snipped and pulled away the stitches; and she grit her teeth and bore it.

"Thank you" she managed as the last one came out.

"You are a brave lass" said Mortimer softly. "And the scar is mostly out of sight underneath."

She flushed.

"But supposing you wanted to touch it; would it feel horrid?" she said.

It was Mortimer's turn to blush.

"Any man who loved you well enough and who you loved well enough for you to permit such liberties would take it as a badge of your bravery and would trace the line of it in lovingly in wonder that you are so full of fortitude" he said.

"Douglas….." she said.

He gasped.

"Roberta! Can you mean…."

"I – I think when it is healed….. I should not be averse to you t-taking liberties" said Roberta.

"I am an old man next to you, Roberta….. you can do better…."

"You have cared for me and taught me to survive; what more tender care would any husband give?" she whispered.

He took her hands and looked searchingly down at her.

"Roberta….. believe me, nothing would make me happier than to be your husband. But I will not let you throw yourself away out of gratitude and perhaps a touch of hero-worship" he said firmly.

"IS it that it's too ugly for you?" she asked wistfully.

"NO!" he almost shouted at her. "No, it is not ugly; any man would be proud to …. Dear God I don't want to think along those lines; Roberta, I don't want you to regret….."

Roberta wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his head down to hers; and then they were kissing with an intensity that spoke wordlessly of the fears of her being shot.

He raised his head.

"We will speak of this more in Phoenix" he said "We cannot let this rule us while we are travelling."

"If you wish that, Douglas" said Roberta "So long as that is not a way not to speak of it at all."

"Have you ever known me to avoid an issue, even a difficult one?" said Mortimer.

She thought of his careful anatomy diagrams and blushed!

"No Douglas; I apologise" she said. "If we are to try to stand aside from this glorious thing we had better pack and join Manco hadn't we?"

"Indeed" he agreed; and his heart was singing at the way she smiled at him.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

"All I know about Benson is that it used to be a one-horse town" said Manco "But then someone ate the horse."

The Colonel took a puff on his pipe and released a careful smoke ring.

"It was built in 1880 when the railroad reached that far to replace the wagon depot; it's there solely to carry ore and refined metals dug out at Tombstone, Fairbank, Contention and Bisbee mines" he said "It's a place that makes the cliché 'Rough Dive' into a paradigm; because where there are miners there are liquor stores, brawls and other trouble."

"Not very quiet then" said Roberta.

As soon as she had been able to ride they had ridden back to San Marcial to take the train to Rincon and then down to Benson; they were discussing their destination as they awaited a train. Most trains to Benson were freight trains; with only one stop beyond it on the line before Mexico, the border town Nogales, there were not many passengers.

Mexicans who had managed to cross the border and were then going north travelled in larger numbers; but not often on the railroad. It cost too much; and many of them were on the verge of destitution.

Manco fell into conversation with a Navajo Indian who was travelling with them; such other travellers as there were seemed to treat the man with mistrust so Manco nodded to him to join them and make up the fourth in their double seat.

"I am called Niyol" the Indian said "Because like the wind I travel; I act as a scout and I do some trading and carry messages where the less hardy wish to go. You are killers of evil men; I see it in your faces."

"Does it show so much?" asked Mortimer.

The Indian smiled a small, grim smile.

"Your eyes look always on death, soldier; and not of death in war. But you have kindness and goodness in those eyes too. So I see that you kill evil men; and I am not afraid to travel with you."

Other than these initial introductions Niyol said very little; but his presence made others give them a wide berth, which suited all three of the bounty hunters.

It was only a few years, after all, since the surrender of Geronimo and the end to the Apache wars; and as the Colonel said cynically if one person in five could tell one tribe from another he'd be surprised.

"The Apache were betrayed, lied to and treaties broken" said Manco "I'd fight back under the circumstances."

The tales of Cochise and his sons and of Geronimo had reached even to the East Coast; Roberta had no need to ask questions about such notorious figures!

oOoOo

Benson was no big town but it was busy. The San Pedro valley in which it was situated was alive with traffic of all kinds, mostly wagons of ore. The train from Bisbee, on the Arizona and South East Railroad, was lengthy, the freight wagons unloading to be smelted in the smelting works before ingots of metal were loaded on a freight train to take the silver and copper pigs north.

The men unloading were foul mouthed and quarrelsome and Mortimer sighed. Roberta was likely to hear a lot more than he would have liked. The men who worked smelting the ore were hardly any less rough. Maybe coming here had been a bad idea; but it was too late for regrets; and too late in the day to set out without reprovisioning.

A lot of conversation was about the disaster of a recent flooding of the copper mine at Fairbank; but the stevedores were principally interested in getting into the bars for drink and women.

And they must take their pick of the saloons that would doubtless also be full of rough men to stay overnight; the major population here was transient, and at a glance Mortimer could see that many of the buildings were not just saloons but gambling establishments and brothels. They may have eaten the one horse as Manco had said, but it had been replaced by two railroad companies, and the place was a transportation hub. There were a sufficiency of obvious cowboys and men dressed as regular settlers to guess that this place also served a farming community as well as the mining; well at least nobody would remark their passage.

Mortimer headed for the most salubrious looking joint he could see – the one with the new paint and no bullet holes immediately obvious – with the other two in his wake.

"Well HELLO, Colonel" the sultry voice almost made him jump as he walked in the half-door. The voice belonged to a woman with rather brassy golden curls that looked suspiciously as though artifice might have been involved in their hue; and she was painted rather extensively and the paint lay in all the little irregularities and wrinkles of a face long past the dewy smoothness of youth.

"Good G-d!" he said "it's…. Susannah, isn't it? I thought you were in Tucson"

"Well I'm glad our time together was memorable" purred the woman. She was provocatively dressed; and her assets were, in Roberta's somewhat disapproving eyes and in her mental description, all laid out on the counter on display. "I thought that the opportunities here were greater; but I must say I didn't expect to see an old acquaintance" Susannah laid a hand on Mortimer's chest.

He firmly removed it.

"We had a good time: once" he said "And I paid you well for it. And now I'm planning on getting married and I'm not interested."

Susannah pouted.

"Say, she ain't here, though, is she?" she said.

"What has that to do with it?" said Mortimer "I'd be discourteous to her to look on another woman and I'd be discourteous to you in thinking only of her if I was with you; and you'd not thank me to wake with another name than yours on my lips, now, would you?"

She pouted more.

"She can't be prettier than me, Colonel" she said, tossing her golden hair and advancing on him with all artillery trained on him.

"Now, Susannah, I'm not about to upset you by answering that" said Mortimer.

Susannah gave a little shriek.

"You mean she IS? Oh that's TOO bad! I don't believe it!"

Mortimer shrugged.

"Believe what you like Susannah; but there's not going to be anything between you and me."

She looked at his companions. Manco was frankly grinning with malicious enjoyment; Roberta was frowning.

"Don't look at me, sister" said Manco "Ain't never had to pay yet; and you couldn't afford ME'.

"What about the boy? Looks like he needs to be shown how to have a good time" said Susannah.

"He's in my care; and I ain't about to let him become corrupted" said Mortimer.

"Besides" said Roberta "There isn't a bounty high enough that would get me to take on such a scary proposition."

Susannah said a short, ugly word.

"Let's try a different place to stay" suggested Manco.

"Good idea" said Mortimer "More off the beaten track."

Roberta wondered if that comment had been meant to be taken two ways or not.

oOoOo

"Well, old man, you're full of surprises" said Manco.

Mortimer shrugged.

"There was a moment when I was lonely; she was there. Poor creature hasn't worn well. I'd not have recognised her but for that voice. She took a liking to me because I suggested she'd do better for herself singing. It was never going to work; glorious voice, can't hold a tune in a sack. Bobby wouldn't have been in double figures last time I saw her."

"I guess that makes me feel better" said Roberta. "If you cared for her it wouldn't matter that she had got old."

"If I cared; no it wouldn't. She's nothing to me though I wish her no ill. I spent a week in her company" said Mortimer. "Which was quite long enough to realise that I preferred being lonely. The ruddy woman never stops talking, which would not be so bad if she had anything worth saying. It's why I quarrelled with Manco at first; he talked too much" his almond shaped eyes twinkled a smile at Manco who gave a grunt of laughter.

oOoOo

The next saloon they tried seemed quieter; and had no prostitutes attached to it. A few labourers were in the bar, with their dust-covered boots and flannel shirts; mostly this seemed the haunt of sober looking claim holders in dungarees or who had changed into suits of varying stages of decrepitude to come into town; and a half dozen cowboys who had brought, judging by the noise from a corral near the train station, their steers into town to be shipped by rail. They were distinctive, rangy fellows with bright kerchiefs knotted at the back, where they could readily pull them up to cover their faces from the dust; their wide brimmed hats hung by the strings down their backs. They looked on the three new comers with some distrust.

"Howdy stranger" said one.

"Good afternoon" said Mortimer.

"I ain't seen you around here before" persisted the cowboy.

"That could be because I've never been here before" said Mortimer

"So, who are you and who are these joes?" asked the cowboy.

"Well, I'm Me Myself; this here's my wife" Mortimer indicated Manco "And my horse" indicating Roberta. The cowboy's eyes narrowed.

"Think you're a wise guy?" he said.

"No neighbour; I KNOW I'm wise not to be too open with strangers" said Mortimer "And all I want is somewhere to bed down tonight then we'll all be passing on through. I don't intend to start anything."

"He WILL however finish anything you start" said Manco "Along o' our help if need be; but as there's only a half dozen of you, if your buddies joined in; he has you outnumbered and me and the kid will eat nuts and enjoy the show."

The easy assurance of the three seemed to speak a sufficiency of volumes to make the cowboy back off; but he scowled.

Mortimer negotiated two rooms for the night; and called for drinks. It had been a thirsty day.

When Niyol walked into the saloon there was an ugly mutter.

"Hey, get outa here, you Apache scum!" said one of the farmers.

"For what it's worth" said Mortimer loudly "He's Navajo; as anyone with two thoughts to rub together that hasn't had his brains baked might tell. And for another thing he's here with me so I'd not push it if I were you."

"They were spoiling for a fight anyhow" said Manco philosophically "Here Bobby; unless anyone goes for guns, you grab a bottle to hit people with; you ain't up to weight for brawling."

"Why are we going to be brawling?" asked Roberta.

"Because Niyol gave them an excuse to get the farmers in on taking us down" said Manco.

The cowboys had all got up.

Mortimer sighed.

"Some people have no discrimination" he said.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

"NO GUNS!" shouted the barkeep, diving down behind the bar and taking his most expensive bottles with him for safekeeping.

The leading cowboy had already launched himself on Mortimer; and found his roundhouse punch blocked by a forearm that seemed to be made of steel. He hardly realised that a short pile driver of a fist was on its way before it connected with his chin; and he went down. Two others were heading for the colonel; and Roberta felled one with a bottle laid hard across the head.

"Thanks kid" said Mortimer, kicking the feet out from under the other.

Manco seemed to have dealt with the other three cowboys on his own; Niyol stood and watched impassively, deigning only to grab the wrist of a farmer coming for him with a knife. The Indian's hand moved faster than a snake striking; and a fist of steel squeezed until the knife was dropped.

"Don't draw steel on a man unless you are prepared for consequences" said the Navajo. He swung the farmer round and pushed him back onto the general melee where he was promptly knocked down by the flailing elbow of one of his fellows.

Mortimer picked up his saddle and bag.

"C'mon Bobby; let's go and see the rooms" he said "Niyol, if you're staying you'll share with my partner?" he nodded at Manco.

"If he'll have me" said Niyol.

"Depends if you snore" said Mortimer walking off.

"Boss, aren't we going to stay and help Manco?" asked Roberta.

Mortimer glanced at the brawl, which was rapidly degenerating into unconscious bodies.

"What for? He seems to be entertaining himself well enough without our help" he said.

oOoOo

"I had been going to leave you the room on your own" said Mortimer to Roberta "But we couldn't leave Niyol. If I don't miss my guess he's scout to a Federal Marshall; and seeing him safe out of this prejudice-ridden hole seemed like a good idea.."

"Absolutely!" agreed Roberta "Though if we're going to be married we don't really need the packs down the middle of the bed."

"We need them more than ever my innocent darling" said Mortimer "Because knowing that you were within touching distance without an obstacle and, hem, not necessarily averse would be enough to drive a man to insanity. I'm a man not a saint; and the mind plays tricks on a man when he wants something, to justify having it. Like the idea that I helped heal part of you, and the concept that it gives me a right to it….. and the thought that being symmetrical in such touching makes sense….. and things go downhill from there in a man's head if he lets them."

"Well they could go downhill Douglas" said Roberta "Unless – unless" she looked nervous "Unless you mind that I don't have as MUCH there as Susannah"

Mortimer jerked her into his arms and kissed her hard and ruthlessly. Roberta gave herself up to the enjoyment of it even though his hands were almost painful on her shoulders; the kiss was sweet and filled with longing; and she kissed him back with enthusiasm.

"I don't CARE what that ruddy woman has or has not" he said in a low, intense voice "YOU have all I could ever want, Roberta; but I need to give you room to find out if you're mistaken. Which is why I am hurting you by gripping your shoulders too tight to make sure I know where my hands are."

"Dear me, are they insubordinate to the Colonel?" said Roberta, wrapping her own arms around his waist.

"Intolerably" said Mortimer. "Almost as much as you. Now let me give you room, love; I couldn't bear for you to feel that I had tied you to me when you had the chance to meet other men and – and fall in love with someone nearer your own age."

"Colonel, sir, sometimes you're a jackass my dear" said Roberta.

oOoOo

"I take it you got bored, Old Man" said Manco knocking and coming in on invitation.

"You seemed to be handling it" said Mortimer.

"I take it the kid had been going to have a room to herself" said Manco. "Not that I disapprove; unless Niyol snores."

Roberta giggled.

"Douglas told him that would be the only reason you might object" she said.

"Well he's going to travel with us too" said Manco "He knows the way and all the best places to camp; I wasn't about to turn that down. He's meeting someone in Phoenix."

"IS it a Marshal?" asked Roberta.

Manco raised an eyebrow.

"Didn't ask" he said.

"Well if he chooses to tell us, all well and good; if he chooses not to, that's all well and good too" said Mortimer. "I'm off to shop for provisions while it's still light. Anything you want in particular, boy?"

Manco shrugged.

"Some cigars if they have them" he said. "Failing that, a chaw of baccy. You know what to get for the trail. Kid going to carry for you?"

Mortimer glanced at Roberta.

"Feel like braving the roughest dive I yet saw?" he asked. Roberta shrugged.

"As you say from time to time, I won't learn any younger" she said. "If I can handle myself here I guess I need be afraid of no place."

"Well said cub" said Manco "I'll keep an eye on the horses and our packs; those rednecks are well bruised but I don't put it past that cowboy playmate of yours to make trouble."

Mortimer nodded thanks; and headed into the town with Roberta at his heels. They could hunt for some of their needs but to have some jerky as well as replenishing their meagre supply of beans and flour and corn meal would not be a bad idea. And some more ammunition. Coffee was getting low too. He added some concentrated vegetable cubes and remarked to Roberta,

"In the army they called this dessicated vegetable; so the troops showed what they thought by calling them desecrated vegetable. Vegetable matter is good to keep us healthy."

"There's dried onion here as well as the vegetable cubes" said Roberta "That will add to the flavour of a stew or baked beans in addition to the salt pork and molasses which we haven't got yet."

"Quite right" said Mortimer. "They fed the Yankees on canned pork and beans, you know; and that was supplies we preferred not to capture because it was all beans and very little pork. And I was planning on buying bacon not salt pork because there's more flavour to it, and we can fry it for breakfast too to eat with Johnny cake or pancakes; and I want some powdered mustard to add to the pork and beans the way my ma used to make it; since you're a good enough trail cook to make it worth bothering."

Roberta grinned; she had been taught to cook of course; every woman needed that skill. And she had soon adapted to cooking on a makeshift fire using a pot suspended over it, and a spider to fry on. She had quickly learned to make the Colonel's favourites, too, like cracklin' bread; in the time he was training her, he would cook while she watched, exhausted from her endeavours and she learned by seeing how he did things. And pork and beans had been a staple for its ease of preparation, the beans soaked overnight then boiled in the pot with a bit of fat pork and molasses to flavour it.

"So the Yankees were the origin of the song about Captain Jinks of the horse marines?" she said "More corn and beans than pork and beans?"

"He was a Yankee; had to be to be that stupid" said Mortimer cheerfully. "The song was written just after the war as I recall."

They bought oats as well as a supplement to grass for the horses for where vegetation was sparse; and oatmeal to make oat cakes and thicken stews; and of course essentials such as salt, and clarified butter in tins that would travel better for being so treated . The butter might be used to fry when the bacon was gone; but a good fat joint of bacon would see plenty of fat to rub into the spider to fry with as well as making cracklin's for bread. And then they returned to the saloon with Roberta singing,

"I'm Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines

I feed my horse on corn and beans

I often live beyond my means

I'm a captain in the army!"

oOoOo

Roberta awoke in the night to find Mortimer's arm flung over the packs, unable to reach her; and gently kissed each finger before sliding her own hand under his when she lay down again, facing him; and his hand closed around hers. It made her feel immensely secure, and she drifted back to sleep to dream rather vaguely of what she wanted from him that was linked rather hazily to his very clinical anatomy notes that had been made what seemed such a very long time ago.

Colonel Mortimer's dreams were along more experienced lines.

Both enjoyed their dreams.

oOoOo

Next morning's start was early.

The horses grumbled slightly at having heavier saddlebags with the provisions divided out amongst them; they had been carrying smaller loads recently.

"They've got soft travelling by rail" said Manco.

"We'll take it gently" said Mortimer "No point straining a hock by over-riding them; they have softened. So have we. A couple of days gentler going to get back into the swing of travel won't do us any harm, nor the horses either. That all right with you, Niyol?"

The Indian shrugged.

"It is always best not to abuse your horse" he said "I too have been much on the train; my horse will thank you for a gentle start."

They left town before many people were about; the barkeeper had got up to feed them, glad to be rid of dangerous people; otherwise only the earliest workers were abroad, those tending livestock or bringing in the early milk to the saloons and such private houses as there were who bought milk in and did not have their own cow.

They had barely left town when Niyol stiffened.

"I hear horse fittings ahead that are not ours" he said "And there are fresh tracks of a dozen men. I think there is an ambush prepared for us."

"I see the sign" said Manco looking.

"There is horse dung not an hour old; is that how you tell the track is recent?" asked Roberta.

"One way, yes, young one" said Niyol. "You will learn well if you remain observant; if we all survive this."

"If they want trouble" said Mortimer grimly "They can have it."


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

The trail led through a narrow valley filled with tumbled rocks alive with scrubby bushes, some of them in flower; it was still cold early in the morning as autumn drew in and the beautiful little valley was encrusted with a delicate silver frosting that turned an already beautiful scene into a fairyland. Roberta rather resented the concept that so pretty a ride was to be spoiled by a fight.

"How do we behave in this situation?" she asked "Do we refuse to give fight so as not to hurt them?"

"No kid; we kill them" said Mortimer, grimly. "You don't ambush travellers unless you are prepared to use guns, because you know that guns will be drawn. Unless they none of them have guns ready; when I think we're all good enough to hold our fire."

"We spring it head on or go round and ambush THEM?" asked Manco.

"Ground is too broken to leave the trail unless you want to go on foot" said Niyol.

"Up to you, old man" said Manco.

Mortimer considered. Ambushing ambushers had its attractions; and too they might then be surprised and maybe captured not killed. Maybe. They'd probably still fight. Their kind were too foolish to know when they were outclassed; even Roberta, with her intensive training, was now a professional gunfighter not a cowboy who could fire a gun well enough to fill the pot.

"We spring it by riding into it" said Mortimer. "Guns ready. And at cavalry pace."

Manco nodded.

They set forth at the canter; and as the dozen cowboys rode out to bar there way, guns aimed, kept right on going, firing as they rode.

A rapidly approaching target that also jinks and swerves is hard to hit; the distance changes so rapidly. To the disciplined gunfighters taking down a couple of the cowboys each before they were even upon them was no real trouble; and Roberta was pleased to see that her targets went down. There was an unspoken agreement that they would fan out and take those opponents within their own sector of approach; they worked well together. And Niyol seemed able to read the way they did things without difficulty. The cowboys fired off a load of wild shots but none connected.

Manco took four; Mortimer three. There was one man left on his horse staring in horror.

Mortimer reined in.

"Banditry's something they hang you for, boy" he said to the remaining horseman. "I suggest you render assistance to your wounded and eschew the business of setting ambushes in the future. I can't be bothered to take you in to the sheriff and finish off these other bandits."

"We ain't bandits!" said the cowboy "Only Rusty said as you needed to be taught a lesson about respect!"

"Well" said Mortimer "Looks like he's the one that learned it. Better hope you learned it too, boy."

They rode on.

oOoOo

They followed the green San Pedro Valley for a while to the north before turning west on one of its tributaries; following valleys was easier than going across the harsh desert or trying to follow where the new railway line was being graded; and much easier on their mounts. By the time they had negotiated the meanders of the river it was time and more to stop to eat; which they did at the confluence of the rivers. The valley they followed was largely dry, meaning that the going was easier by riding up its bed; but water might be found at intervals,

They would follow this to a small town called Mescal where, said Mortimer, the railroad from the west had certainly made it to go on into Tucson and thence to Phoenix. They camped overnight and without any serious ado made it to Mescal late the following morning.

"At least the railroad is almost completed" said Mortimer "Soon it will be less than an hour to travel from Benson to Mescal."

"We live in a wonderful age, Douglas" said Roberta in awe "How quickly things are changing! And on the whole for the better, too; with such rapid transport there is very little that cannot be accomplished, and goods may be shipped by rail so easily that one day no community will ever be isolated or in danger of starvation from a local flood or fire."

"Indeed" agreed Mortimer. "The days of cowboys such as those who set upon us is almost gone; before long ranch hands will drive cattle to the nearest railhead, and that will not be far from anywhere, and load the cattle for transportation onto special cars for their transport; and then the meat will arrive in good order, not tough from long travel."

They were to eat in Mescal before catching the train to Tucson.

It was perhaps unfortunate that a bravo looking to make a name for himself decided that even if the hard faced man in the poncho and the eagle eyed man in black were too dangerous, and the Indian insignificant, their comrade might prove easier game.

He jostled Roberta and spilled her drink.

Roberta eyed him coldly.

"What are you looking at?" said the stranger.

"Apparently someone too rude to make an apology for clumsiness" said Roberta coldly.

"I, clumsy? It was you who was clumsy, jackass!" said the man.

"Oh? Then I'm so sorry about how clumsy I can be when jostled" said Roberta and poured the rest of her drink over his crotch.

Mortimer sighed; but this newcomer was spoiling for a fight. Roberta had had no way to avoid it.

"You'll answer for that you little jerk!" said the man. "Let's take this outside!"

"Fists or pistols?" asked Roberta, her heart sinking.

"Pistols" said the man.

"As you wish" said Roberta.

He left.

"No way out of this I suppose?" said Roberta.

"Only by killing him" said Manco.

"You could wound him; but then he'd be a live enemy to worry about" said Mortimer. "And he's only out to add your scalp to his collection in terms of notches on his gun. Make it a clean kill."

"Can I?" asked Roberta.

"Of course you can" said Mortimer "I trained you, didn't I?"

She nodded a little tremulously. Fighting in a group with the others against desperados was one thing; fighting _mano a mano_ for something utterly trivial was something else.

"It's silly" she said in disgust.

"Of course it's silly" said Mortimer "It's also the only way second rate punks like him can make a name for themselves. Now out you go before he gives out that you're yellow" Mortimer was angry; and afraid for Roberta; but there was no way out. She could not afford to be called yellow, she would attract violence from everyone. And now she was a good shot.

Roberta nodded and made her way outside with a firm step; the three men went with her to see fair play.

"Thought you weren't coming" the gunslinger jeered.

"You can think? My, how impressive" said Roberta.

There were some chuckles from those who had assembled – tucked safely under stoops – to watch the entertainment. Sensible folk might have withdrawn within and bolted their doors; but there were always those happy to watch a gunfight.

The sun was almost overhead; almost. Roberta walked down the street towards it.

"What are you making a run for it?" cried her opponent.

"Oh is the distance too great for you, boy?" said Mortimer with a sneer. Roberta had withdrawn about a hundred feet; two or three times the distance most gunfights took place at. It favoured the accurate.

"Watch it; you might be next" said the furious gunslinger; who did think it too great but did not care to be sneered at. He dared not fire until Roberta turned; he would have no name but an unpleasant one for shooting a man in the back. And with his quarry's friends around it was unwise in the extreme.

Roberta turned; she had wanted to give herself the advantage of having the sun over her shoulder, even if it was at too oblique an angle to cause her opponent much dazzle. He would have to squint a little but not much. She also wanted the advantage of distance; because Douglas Mortimer had drilled her ruthlessly in getting the best range out of her Buntline. It took slightly longer to draw than a gun with a shorter barrel; but had the advantage of accuracy over distance.

And she wore it across her belly like Douglas did to improve the speed of the draw too. It was one of the two ways a gunfighter wore his gun; the more common way that distinguished a gunfighter was the thong about the thigh to hold the holster steady. This man wore his tied thus.

She saw her opponent's hand move; and she was drawing, aiming, firing in one movement, in the way that had become automatic, requiring no thought or decision.

She heard her own gun fire; and the sharp crack of a shot from her opponent. And then he was crumpling and falling to the ground. Roberta spun her gun around her finger with a flourish and returned it to the holster; and then there were men around her, shaking her hand, patting her on the back.

"Say kid, that was some shot!" said one "That skunk's taken down six men already; you are one cool hand! And a hole drilled right through the forehead at THAT distance!"

"When I shoot a rattlesnake I like to be a long way from its bite" said Roberta. "If he couldn't manage accurate, he didn't ought to play with real men."

She nearly giggled saying this; and that was partly from a mildly hysterical relief.

The remark was repeated; and Roberta found herself treated and toasted.

She also earned the appellation of 'Snakekiller Bobby'.

"You did good, Bobby" said Mortimer.

"I was terrified, Douglas" admitted Roberta "I heard him fire; but I didn't even feel it pluck my clothing; did he actually miss me entirely?"

"Yes" said Mortimer, grinning. "A masterstroke to take the distance; and good shot by the way."

"Not really" said Roberta "I was aiming for the centre of his body like you taught me. I fired high."

"That's why you aim for the centre of the body" said Mortimer "So that a slight deviation from line doesn't matter. We'll work on it though."

"Yes Colonel sir" said Roberta, grinning at him.


	18. Chapter 18

_A/N Thanks to both Clio1792__ and Artemis Acorn who have been very helpful with both the dynamics of slavery in the south and the speech patterns I need to use without falling into the Uncle Remus trap. I'm trying here too to explore the idea that there's more than one kind of slavery than one with shackles and to note that the Civil War wasn't a quick fix for slavery. If anyone wants to send me hate mail you either probably missed the point or are a sad creature who needs a sheet with eyeholes in it._

**Chapter 18**

When the train came into Tucson it was supposed to be for only a short stop; but Roberta gave a cry, glancing out of the window and leaped up to exit the train.

"Get the horses" said Mortimer, in a resigned voice, to Manco, getting hastily to his feet and picking up Roberta's baggage as well as his own.

"I will stay on the train if you not mind" said Niyol.

"You have a safe journey, friend" said Manco.

"Our best to the Marshal" said Mortimer, enjoying the effect on the Indian who half started at that. "What, you think you're the only one who can read men?"

"I guess that will be a good lesson to Niyol" said the Navajo wryly. "The marshal will laugh; I pass on your good wishes."

oOoOo

"Amaryllis! What are you doing so far west?" demanded Roberta, having come up to the black girl the sight of whom had elicited her hasty exit of the train.

The girl turned.

"Excuse me young massa, dis po' girl don' know you" she said "Tho' you knows ma name sho' 'nough."

Roberta dropped her voice.

"Look again Amaryllis; last time you saw me you dressed me in a red velvet gown; it's me, Roberta!"

Amaryllis gave a little shriek and put her hands to her face.

"Land sakes!" she cried "not ma own sweet Miss 'Berta?"

"HUSH" said Roberta "Mister Robert now; can you come and have a coffee and tell me what you're doing here?"

"Honey Ah have to wait fo' – here he is, ma uncle Joseph" said Amaryllis.

"Joseph!" Mortimer had caught up with his quicksilver beloved and recognised the man who was nervously approaching his niece and the – as he thought – young white man.

"Massa Douglas as dis ol' negr' does live and breathe!" cried Joseph and flung himself on Mortimer's neck. Mortimer embraced him back.

"Joseph, an unusual amount of effusion" he said "You aren't supposed to feel that way for an evil slaveowner when you have your freedom. And I wish you'd not speak like that."

"Huh" said Joseph "You rises beautiful like you always did, Massa Douglas. As for that blood-suckin' ol' carpet-bagger, he 'spect more from we poor negros on his land, as should be yo' land by rights than ever even ol' Bubba Carmichael wanted outta his slaves when he owned de next plot to yours; and as Gellibrand won't pay more'n what he thinks fair, which ain't fair by a long stalk now we has to buy our own food as free men, we's free to starve unless we does his special jobs. He have lost most o' the people, who've gone lookin' fo' work elsewhere, but me I'm tied wit' ma family; tho' yo's ma family too, Massa Douglas, the scrapes we got into together man and boy; and if yo' say the word I'd work fer you fo' ma food, yes SIR rather than be tied to that ol' skinflint and be de one to bring disgrace on ma family if it come out dat dis poor old man been smuggling, fo' who would believe it was on de orders of de rich white man wit' his generous freeing's of us po' slaves?"

"Less of dis po' ol' man" said Mortimer "You fraud, Joseph; we were born on the same day so I know to the second how old you are and I ain't ready to be old yet. You shall certainly work for me and on good wages too. I am on the hunt for the wrongdoing of Gamaliel Gellibrand; and anything you can tell me is of great moment. And could mean a proper freedom for your family if we can swing this. Let's find somewhere quiet to discuss this."

oOoOo

"Right; shed the poor old negro accent and the massa crap and let's get down to brass tacks" said Mortimer when they were seated in a quiet corner in a bar – the guns of the three bounty hunters having stilled the protests over serving blacks before they even rose to the lips of the barkeep – with Manco assimilating that the Colonel had just had the lucky break of falling in with old friends.

Joseph grinned.

"It's hard, Douglas" he said "Gellibrand really likes the idea that we is all uneducated and speak like it; he done dream of being a slaveowner, and one of the stamp of Bubba Carmichael, may his bones rot."

Mortimer chuckled.

"HOW many of his slaves did we manage to spirit away to the underground railway between us?" he asked.

"Plenty" said Joseph. "And your father swearing blind that he would never let runaways cross his land; good thing they never asked the young master. Such an angelic and innocent face as you had!"

"Hey, let's not descend to insults" said Mortimer.

"I bet he was a cute little boy" said Roberta.

Amaryllis had whispered to her uncle rapidly; and Joseph grinned unrepentantly at Mortimer.

"Oh I know a few stories his future wife would be glad to know" he said. "We has lied for each other him 'n' me; his mammy was sick all the time, poor woman; he growed up 'long o' me with my mammy and if there was any mischief on the estate, and it wasn't him and me, well I daresay we knowed about it."

"That, I'm afraid, is true" said Mortimer "And we covered for my sister and her young man too."

"Did you run that murderin' bastard to earth?" asked Joseph.

"Yup" said Mortimer "Manco here helped me hunt down El Indio. He's dead."

Joseph stuck out a hand.

"Any friend o' the Colonel is a friend o' mine" he said.

Manco shook.

"We're partners" he said. "We cuttin' your friend in here, old man?"

"That's his choice" said Mortimer. "I'd as soon go back to being a farmer – well most of the year anywise – and gathering up my people who have been abused by Gellibrand. They don't come much worse than him; hypocrites who want to be Southern Gentlemen with precious little of the gentleman about them. With the bounties we've been taking I can afford to get the land back into good heart and subsidise pay until it's running more profitably. Sorry Manco; pipe dreams without tobacco until we can oust Gellibrand."

"Yeah" said Manco. "You ain't the usual cut of slave owner I guess."

Mortimer shrugged.

"Maybe it was growing up alongside Joseph and seeing him and his family more as people than being blinded by tradition of seeing them only as assets" he said. "When you've gone fishing and hunting and set booby traps together you ain't master and slave, you're friends. And pa himself, who died believing in the rights of one man to own another, always preached the philosophy that you took care of them even so. Carmichael suspected him of helping his slaves because he reckoned he was soft. We'd have played a load of tricks on Carmichael only he'd have blamed his own slaves" he added regretfully.

"VERY like Gellibrand" said Joseph. "The long and short of it is that we're smuggling guns into Mexico and liquor to the Reservations as a sideline; and the gold and silver that pays for them coming out. It's all covered in the agricultural goods we're supposedly trading; nobody stop de po' ol' negr' shippin' de massa's goods, sah."

"MMMmmm" said Mortimer. "What you doing in Tucson, Joseph?"

"On my way up to Phoenix to investigate if there really is a gold mine, or has been a gold mine as belonged to one Jacob Walz" said Joseph. "And I brought Amaryllis account o' how I don't trust that dirty old man to keep his cotton-pickin' paws off o' her. If there's even the whisper of a mine, it helps to make the gold for smuggled goods look legitimate. O' course the greedy fat bastard is hoping there's a gold mine too."

"What's the story?" asked Roberta "This mine is supposed to be abandoned?"

"Yes" said Joseph "Jacob Walz, who may or may not have murdered his way into owning it died and is said to have given a few people some clues as to its whereabouts. Gellibrand would like to have it; but so long as one of his po' ol' negr's can claim to have found it for him he'll be happy to just pretend to launder the smuggling money."

"I'm amazed he trusts you so well" said Mortimer.

Joseph shrugged.

"He think he have the hold over me of my mammy; she's old and frail but she looks on you like another son, Douglas; she would want me to do what's right. And I know you'd see about taking care of her."

"I would" said Mortimer grimly. "And he is aware how clever you are?"

"Oh I is smart for a negr' massa but no he hasn't a clue" said Joseph. "Nor that you learned me to speak near as clear as any white man."

"If Southerners can be said to speak clearly at all" said Manco.

Joseph grinned at him.

"Oh at least we speak clearer than you dam'yankees" he said. "But he knows I have the gift of the gab – and can make my way though tricky situations. So he sends me; and it's a living, and I don't care so much that Uncle Sam gets diddled, because after all, we never got a whole lot of change outa being free; only thing we gained was the resentment of the po' white trash who can't look quite as much down on us as they used to. All they have to despise is our colour. And o' course we don't get paid near as much as a white man doing the same job; even when his pay ain't scarcely enough."

"Well I ain't goin' into politics" said Mortimer "I'd be tempted to shoot all the other politicos."

"And that's a bad idea in what respect?" asked Manco.

"Po' black man have to clear up de mess' said Joseph in a flash.

"Or the women" said Roberta.

Amaryllis giggled shyly.

"Wus for me, de po' black women!" she said.

"Ain't it just true" said Mortimer. "Bobby, if Amaryllis will join us as your maid you could stop masquerading if you wanted to."

"Have I got to?" asked Roberta. "I get the fun this way. Besides, I want to find out how long it takes for Snakekiller Bobby to be notorious as a bounty hunter.

Mortimer cuffed her gently.

"If we can pull this business off you won't need to be notorious as a bounty hunter" he said "We just have to find a way to show that Gamaliel Gellibrand is doing this; because I wager there aren't many sheriffs who'd run against a rich man when he can be talked into believing that all this freedom went to the head of his black factotum and have Joseph well and truly fitted up; and I sort of object to that."

"Not as much as I do" said Joseph.

"Well" said Manco "'F you'd ask me, I'd say a federal marshal that Joseph can lay information to 'd be just dandy."

"That, boy, is a damned good idea" said Mortimer fishing out his pipe.

"You got a spare one up your sleeve wit de white man's magic massa?" said Joseph.

"Well we know a Marshal's scout" said Mortimer.

"To Phoenix!" cried Roberta.

"But not until after lunch" said Manco.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

"Douglas, I AM glad you were involved in helping slaves escape" said Roberta quietly as they sat together on the train. Joseph and Amaryllis were banished to some less salubrious carriage; freedom did not necessarily mean any kind of equality.

"Well there's no real virtue in it you know" said Mortimer "It was very much a joint motive of doing a bad favour to our next neighbour, Bubba Carmichael, who was a most unpleasant man, and a boys' lark. Oh to be sure, I was sorry for the people we got away for belonging to such a man; but I can't say I had ever reflected deeply upon the state of slavery at all. Joseph was my friend; and he was just Joseph, and in front of others he had to remember to call me Master Douglas; but I don't think that I ever connected that at all with his state of slavery: small boys are monsters of selfishness you know! And by the time I was starting to reflect on the inequalities, well we were going to war with the North. And right at first, the war was NOT hung on the issue of slavery – though to be sure it was an issue insofar as the slave owning South would be able to exploit California and the new territories more effectively if we ended up with ownership of them."

"So when did it become an issue?" asked Roberta.

"When Britain, who depended heavily on our cotton for her manufacturing industry, was preparing to come in on the Southern side, using as her excuse the idea that it upheld the original constitution that left open the idea that states should be permitted to secede" said Mortimer. "But Britain had led the way in the abolition of slavery; and Lincoln made one of the cleverest and most astute political moves ever in the history of mankind when he declared the War of Northern Aggression – as we called it, since we saw the North interfering in our rights to govern ourselves – to be a war on slavery. That's boiled down and simplified but it more or less covers it. Suddenly we weren't the heroic rebels doing no more nor less than the whole of the United States had previously done to Great Britain; no, suddenly we were the bogey-men. Of course Britain might have still offered aid on the condition that we phased out slavery; and of course if we had succeeded in secession they would have been able to enforce it with the Royal Navy. But it didn't happen that way; and instead of a gradual emancipation that might have enabled a better integration of society it was all done by decree that had not been thought through. Perhaps had Lincoln lived he might have been astute enough to do it better; but he was assassinated, and slaves were suddenly free, and their former owners not always in a position to start to pay them, and so the economic crisis that had been started by having to pay for the war deepened. So help me, Roberta, if we can deal with Gellibrand and make a fortune in bounties along the way, I plan to overcome that deficit with my people at least and see that their children have equal education to any Northern kids, black and white both. When you own land you have a duty to those on that land, labourers or tenants; and I guess when you reduce your labourers to the state of cattle by owning them, too many people forgot that. And I abandoned my duty; because I wanted to avenge my sister; and because the land was no longer mine because being a staff member of the Confederate Army someone managed to make my land forfeit. Probably some lawyer's trick of Gellibrand's who picked the richest small estate he could find. And why was it rich? Because our people, our slaves, were well fed and well treated and it was in their self interest to work hard for that. It would still be fairly rich if they were paid good wages too; not perhaps so much but it's good land. I suspect however that Gellibrand is an abusive employer who uses terror to gain compliance. As well as underpaying his – my – people. Sorry my dear; that was a bit of a polemic."

"I think that it would be good to make enough to make sure that we CAN improve matters" said Roberta "Even if it's only for the few. Shall we look for Jacob Walz's gold mine too?"

Mortimer laughed.

"I fancy it exists more in the imagination than the actuality" he said.

oOoOo

Phoenix was a town that was fast growing; the railroad had made it a hub and though it was still no more than a few streets in each direction, it was very busy. There was enough traffic to make it interesting crossing the wide streets; indeed main street, called Walsingham Street, was a hundred feet wide.

"Why Phoenix?" asked Roberta.

"Politically neutral" said Mortimer "It was founded by Jack Swilling; he, being an ex Confederate, wanted to call it 'Stonewall'; that was a hot potato though, and the name 'Salina' was suggested."

"Well that's a bit of a stupid name" said Roberta "Though I guess there are stupider ones. Rincon, meaning 'corner' being one."

"When you have a country that's still growing naming places is hard I guess" said Mortimer "And physical features or names of people you admire sometimes seem the best compromise. And Phoenix had the distinction of being on the site of a long extinct civilisation so when the name Phoenix was suggested as a town that had grown out of the ashes it seemed like a good idea; especially as it's so hot you could imagining yourself being on the pyre" he added.

"I guess that makes sense then" said Roberta "What was this previous civilisation then?"

Mortimer laughed.

"I'm not enough of a historian" he said.

"Excuse me" a man passing had heard this exchange and raised his hat. "I should like to enlighten the lad if I may, in brief, to understand the region's history."

"Thank you sir" said Roberta, raising her own hat politely.

"The Hohokam civilisation rose, we think, some seven hundred years before Christ's birth" said the man "And built more than a hundred miles of irrigation canals. Which may be able to be re-used more extensively with work" he added "Jack Swilling, who founded the town, reopened many of them to fulfil the agricultural potential of this vicinity. It's generally believed that in the middle ages there were conflicting series of droughts and floods that destroyed the culture. Alas that there is relatively little known as yet; but those of us who are interested do search for antiquities associated with the culture."

"Thank you very much sir!" said Roberta "Such natural disasters can be terrible for an isolated community; I was remarking only the other day how the railroad will be invaluable to bring aid to any struck by fire or flood."

"And not an option open to the Hohokam" said the stranger "Adoph Bandelier at your service; I am an archaeologist."

"Then I should warn you, sir" said Mortimer "That if you are asking questions or digging in the Superstition Mountains, that there is a gang of desperate men, potentially killers, looking for a gold mine there. I'm tracking them down; and trying to satisfy my nephew's curiosity about all things at the same time."

Bandelier looked grave.

"The Indians have been concerned over white men bringing danger" he said. "There have been gunfights in the Superstition Mountains; I wish you luck bringing them to justice. I hope to conclude my studies here soon because I have been offered the chance to examine the Inca civilisation; but your words added to the warnings of the Indians means I shall certainly take care."

They parted from the archaeologist to find somewhere to stay that would be near to a place Joseph and Amaryllis might also stay.

oOoOo

Phoenix sported around a score of saloons, the inevitable gambling parlours and the convenience of horse-drawn street cars pulling rather rickety looking carriages on rails for the convenience of those too drunk to walk across town from one gambling establishment to another. Roberta thought that you would have to be drunk not to notice how much they seemed to sway.

There seemed to be no problem with having a couple of black people in their group; the mix was so disparate in this frontier town that the modest white-painted board hotel with sleeping porches to the rooms accepted all of them cheerfully and their dollars even more cheerfully. They took two rooms; one for Roberta and Amaryllis, and, said Mortimer, if people wanted to draw there own erroneous conclusions let them; and one for the men. Mortimer paid for a large room with a truckle; after all they might be here some while going in and out of town and trying to figure out what to do next.

He admitted to Manco that he had no very clear plan as yet.

"Well old man, I thought you had no plan at all" said Manco.

"He's clever; he'll pull the best plan of all out of the bag all in one go" said Joseph.

"He's a good planner; I give him that" said Manco.

"First thing is to find that Federal Marshal" said Mortimer "And see what HE says."

"Nope" said Manco "First thing is coffee and something to eat."

_A/N Adolph Bandelier, like Joseph Walz was a real man; you can google either one if you want to know more. The Dutchman's mine has [probably] never been found_


	20. Chapter 20

_A/N Thanks to Artemis Acorn for digging up the legal position on getting wed _

**Chapter 20**

Federal Marshal Falk Peters listened to the story Joseph had to tell; and the explanation of why Mortimer was involved. He was impressed by the way Joseph turned to Colonel Mortimer for corroboration, not as a men turning in fear to one who had once owned him, but one who was trusted utterly; a truly unique situation in his knowledge of the South. True there had been some few previous slave owners who had managed to come to an amicable arrangement with their former slaves – and they were rare enough – for having been well meaning souls; but he had never seen the sort of bickering that usually one only found between siblings. It crossed his mind that they might indeed be half siblings; but that was none of his business.

"You are aware that though I count your deposition valid there will be plenty who will discount the word of a black man against a white one?" he said.

"Yes sir" said Joseph "But Doug – The Colonel, he say we do this by law and hear what you advise."

"You ain't used to deferring judgement to others I'd say, Colonel" said Peters, turning a penetrating pair of grey eyes on Mortimer.

"No, Marshal, I can't say that I am" said Mortimer "But you see, I want more than revenge; I want this tied up legal so that Joseph and his family can have true freedom; and I want to marry the girl that Gamaliel Gellibrand tried to force into marriage and I would like the option to go home. And without that I have the word of a law man that I can go after Gellibrand that ain't going to happen."

"I see" said Peters. "I'd like to give you word to bring him in; but I fear this might not hold up in court. Now if he was to write a letter about the smuggling, or were himself involved in it, that would be a different matter."

"You mean you'd like us to set him up" said Manco.

"I'd like to hear from him words that tie him to it" said Peters.

"Well that's easy" said Roberta. "You do the Uncle Remus act so very well, Joseph; why don't you write to him and tell him that there's a snag because the people you ran guns to won't give gold to a black man? Say it's some hidalgo wanting to make a bid for power who's got more pride than sense."

"That's a brilliant idea, Bobby, but for one thing" said Joseph, who had fallen in with the way the others addressed Roberta. "Mr Gellibrand, him not know dat dis po' ol' negr' can write."

"DAMN!" said Roberta.

"But Uncle Joseph, I wuz learned to read, write and figure, t'make lists for Miss 'Berta" said Amaryllis "Sho' I can write dat yo' has telled me to write."

"Excellent and astute suggestion" approved Mortimer.

"Should work" agreed Manco.

Joseph nodded.

"I'm not expecting to take anything over the border for a while; I wouldn't want to excite his suspicions right away, for now I'm supposed to be looking for the Walz mine."

"And I" said Peters "Am supposed to be stopping bloodshed over the wretched thing."

"Fine" said Mortimer "Deputise us all and we'll help you out; we ain't doing anything else until Joseph doesn't write his missive as you might say. Manco, you'll be an Hidalgo when the time comes? He doesn't know you."

Manco grinned.

"Social climbing from bounty killer to Spanish grandee? I could get used to that" he said.

"All right" Peters agreed "I might have sent you away while I did some digging about you; but the Man with No Name and the Man in Black are well known bounty hunters and known to be scrupulous. As well as having the personal recommendations of Niyol who has never been known to be wrong in his judgement. And I'll put my trust in those you vouch for. Raise your hands and make the oath of allegiance and I'll have to get some stars for you later."

oOoOo

Being deputised had its interesting moments.

Mortimer insisted that as the Marshal was engaged in preventing bloodshed over the Dutchman's mine it behoved them to get involved with two groups of prospectors whose quarrel had spread out of the Tiger Saloon and onto the street; and was about to come to a shooting matter.

Rapping the main protagonists sharply over the head with pistol butts seemed to work to quite rapidly make them lose interest in fighting each other since that activity was carried out before the half drunken would-be miners had realised than another, and more dangerous group had joined the fray. Mortimer drew attention to the deputy badge he was wearing to the followers amongst the combatants; and told them that they were all going to have the worst of it if they continued in a like manner.

"I can't be bothered to take you all to the lock up" he said "So I suggest you disperse. And by the way, if you want to dig for your own gold, all well and good; but forget the Dutchman's mine; it's been found, and claimed, by a group of God-botherers who have enough funds to guard it properly and enough sanctimony to dispatch anyone ungodly enough to go after their gold to stand before Holy Judgement. And that, my boys, supersedes the judgement of Uncle Sam."

There was much discontented muttering; but the rivals departed, in opposite directions, taking their wounded with them.

"Where did you hear that?" asked Manco.

"I made it up" said Mortimer "Which was why I was careful not to specify any sect or church. Hopefully the rumour might spread and help diffuse the trouble."

Manco slapped his thigh and laughed his silent laugh.

"You sometimes do take the biscuit, old man!" he said.

oOoOo

Mortimer knocked at Roberta's door; Amaryllis insisted on answering, and seeing who it was slid tactfully out of the room.

"I did promise we'd discuss things in Phoenix" he said. Roberta ran to his arms and raised her mouth for a kiss; and his arms tightened convulsively about her and he bent his mouth to hers. If his hands wandered at all in that hard, passionate embrace it might be said that he felt a need to check that his handiwork had healed properly; but as he seemed to be enjoying it as much as Roberta was it never occurred to her to look for so spurious an excuse. At length he raised his head.

"Roberta…." His voice was not steady. "Do you really want to marry me? It seems so extraordinary to me….."

"Douglas!" said Roberta "When you bear in mind, my dear, that you are fitter than any eastern boy my age and probably like to live longer if nobody shoots you first – as can happen to a man of any age – as well as having the wisdom and knowledge boys my age rarely have, can it really surprise you that much that I prefer you to some callow youth?"

"Yes" said Mortimer "But go on; I like having my ego stroked as well as the back of my neck. You have such an intoxicating touch….."

Roberta was unable to go on for a short while because this led to another long kiss.

"Your ego doesn't need stroking" she said "Because you are self assured; that's attractive too, being self assured enough not to worry about what other people think, but not arrogant to make assumptions or put others down. And you are clever, knowledgeable, the best shot in the Carolinas and you've chosen to teach me. And you don't mind that I like being a boy; and I suspect that when we're married you won't mind if I don't ever go back to horrid old corsets and ride astride and do all the sorts of things ladies don't do."

"You don't need a corset" said Mortimer "And they're horrible things to break into. Then I'll make it a formal question my dear: will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?"

"Oh yes, Douglas, with all my heart" said Roberta. "You may kiss me again."

Mortimer was quite happy to comply with this instruction.

Some time later, he said,

"I should like to marry you quickly to protect you; but of course we can't be married here where you are seen as Bobby the er, Snakekiller. Should you object to being married by Mormons?"

Roberta giggled.

"So long as I don't have to have four husbands" she said.

"Over my dead body" said Mortimer firmly. "On the way to Gold Canyon there's s settlement called Lehi, it's a Mormon settlement. You could change into female attire right before we get there, we get married, then you change back after we leave."

"Sounds good to me" said Roberta "Then I have a marriage certificate; nice. I also" she added thoughtfully "Get to be given a PERSONAL anatomy lesson by you."

Mortimer had not realised how easily he might still blush.

"Would you like that?" he asked.

Roberta was also blushing but smiling shyly.

"I would like it very much indeed" she whispered.

"Then my dear, I shall obey the requirements of the law by posting a notice of intent in the local newspaper – it won't even be read by most people – and take that with us as proof of publication of intent" said Mortimer "Which might or might not be required but let's be on the safe side. You're over sixteen so you don't need parental consent; and last time I looked I was over eighteen, so all we have to do is to draw up a contract of intent to wed each other and find ourselves a preacher. I'll see if I can't buy a licence as well to be on the safe side; I don't think that there'll be a problem about a waiting time, Phoenix is too full of transients to enforce that very strictly! I don't think we'll have to make an official elopement to Yuma; even with the railroad it would take us in the opposite direction to the Superstition Mountains and I don't suppose Joseph is the only one of Gellibrand's employees looking for that mine. I'd like to get there. Time to consider Yuma if the Mormons in Lehi make a fuss."

"Oh, if they do, well think again or just live together until we can tie the knot legally; though I'm glad that I'm considered of age" said Roberta "Though after we have enjoyed marital relations in wedlock or out of it, it is too late for my father to complain."

"Quite so" said Mortimer, kissing her again.


	21. Chapter 21

_I actually dreamed this one and I'm not about to pass up a good story if it presents itself to my subconscious._

**Chapter 21**

Roberta was rudely awakened out of sweet dreams of being in her Douglas' arms by first a clap of thunder, followed rapidly by a hammering on her door and her lover's less than lover like voice shouting to get up and get dressed.

Amaryllis was hiding under the bedclothes.

"Amaryllis, honey, get up and get dressed" said Roberta, pulling the sheet off the frightened girl "When Douglas uses that tone, you don't argue."

"I don' much like storms, Miss Berta; you knows that" said Amaryllis "I been that sceert; loudest one dat I ever knowed!"

"Well you silly girl, why didn't you wake me?" said Roberta "I never noticed it; I'd have given you a cuddle, because I do know how you hate storms, and it's my father's fault for telling you that it was God coming to punish you when you were first my maid way back when. My father tells lies when it suits him and the Almighty has better things to do than punish ordinary sinners when he hasn't made a push to do anything to Congress or other great sinners" and she threw Amaryllis' dress over to her as she pulled her own clothes on rapidly.

The two girls left the room, holding hands; Douglas and Manco and Joseph were waiting.

"The storm's a bit close; and I picked a hotel on high land to prevent being caught in flash floods" said Douglas "There's a house up the road been struck; we were going up to help."

"We'll come" said Roberta "Outside's safest place to be so long as there are taller things to hit."

"What I figured" said Mortimer.

oOoOo

The house that had been struck was a two story building; and the householder had managed to get his heavily pregnant wife out. She was screaming for her son; and as they ran up, an upstairs window opened and a girl in a nightgown leaped out.

She struck the sidewalk heavily and lay ominously still.

"My baby! Where's my BABY?" howled the pregnant woman. A child's cries could just be heard above the crackle of flames.

"Douglas; throw me" said Roberta. It was something they had practised; she, being light had a chance of getting higher.

Mortimer briefly clenched his fists in half rejection of the idea; then turned back to the house, and made a stirrup. Roberta ran a few steps, jumped lightly to place one foot on his hands and with his toss reached the second storey window. All the climbing paid off; she hung a moment then pulled herself up with main strength. She might not have the upper body strength of a boy her size but she had more training to use the muscle that she did have. In an instant she was in the window. Douglas Mortimer turned and stared up; all he cared for in the world was in a burning building.

And then she was back at the window with a screaming child, lowering the toddler by the wrists. Mortimer stood under the window; and Roberta dropped her burden.

Mortimer caught him easily and passed him off to Amaryllis who was sobbing in terror. Giving her something to do would be good.

"Take him to his mother" said Mortimer tautly as Roberta swung herself over the sill; glanced backwards and called

"DOUGLAS!" as she threw herself off the sill.

Manco was at his back to brace him as he caught her; as the roof fell in.

"Steady old man" said Manco "Can't have you bowled over by love."

"Go to hell" said Mortimer "And thanks."

"That was a little close" said Roberta.

"The storm is making a little bit of a noise too" said Manco "You did okay kid."

This from Manco was fairly high praise so Roberta grinned shakily at him.

"I need a stiff drink" she said.

"You don't like strong liquor" said Mortimer mildly, hustling her away before any of the building fell any further forward.

"I could change my mind" said Roberta.

The young couple wanted to shake her hand, tearful and grateful; it seemed that the girl who had jumped had been the nursemaid who had chosen to try to save her own life and leave her charge; the young husband was busy contrasting that with the bravery of this mere boy.

"Bobby has cast iron ones" said Mortimer with his tongue firmly in his cheek.

A hook and ladder cart had arrived at the gallop and a bucket chain had already been organised; and then the heavens broke with torrential rain.

"A bit late" said Roberta, who had excused herself from being thanked volubly to join the bucket gang.

The rain soon did what willing neighbours could not; the young couple might hope to salvage some of their possessions from the debris; the rain was what Roberta heard a local describe as 'raining straight up'; each huge drop hit the ground so hard it was jumping nearly a foot right up. It was actually painful.

"And this is what causes flash floods" said Mortimer "I didn't like the look of the sky over the Superstition Mountains when we rode into town and I suspected this might be coming" he paused to pass a bucket as the last few flames were doused inside the house "But the mother and father of electrical storms I did not expect first – though I should have done. Bobby you look all in; this is under control. Let's get back to the hotel."

oOoOo

Roberta was shivering violently; and it was not just from having been soaked right through. Mortimer helped to rub her down and undress her, talking quietly about the causes of thunderstorms just to have something to talk about, as to a skittish horse; Amaryllis, surreptitiously stripping her own wet clothes off, listened in fascination.

"Colonel, sah, I ain't never gwine t'be sceered o' storms again" she said "It just part o' God's nat'ral world."

"Good girl!" said Mortimer. "All of nature can wreak havoc but by avoiding being stupid you can usually avoid getting the worst of it. If there'd been a lightning conductor on that house this would not have happened. Actually" he added "I heard tell of a town where the church was next to a brothel; and the brothel had a lightning conductor; and the parson called for the sinful to be struck down. Next storm, church burned to the ground; the brothel was fine. The next Parson, who was as Godly as anyone but didn't believe in tempting providence, put in a lightning conductor when he rebuilt the church. That's better" as a giggle escaped from Roberta.

"Douglas I want to be held tight" said Roberta "I had to do that but I've never been so scared! I held my handkerchief over my mouth and nose not to cough, but the smoke made it dark and confusing; and the baby was starting to choke on the smoke! I got back to the window all by guess…"

"But you got back" said Mortimer, sitting her on his knee, swathed in a blanket. "and you got out in time, my brave love, which is better than getting out just too late. Or we shouldn't be having this conversation. You did good" he added.

Roberta clung to him and cried sobs of relief and shock; and Amaryllis quietly left them to it.

After Roberta had finished a good cry, Mortimer kissed her sore eyes, swollen from the smoke as well as from crying; and it was a short trip down to her mouth. Roberta kissed him back, feeling the longing in his kisses, made more passionate from a fear that he might have lost her so soon after having found her; and she moved against him.

"Not until we're married my darling" said Mortimer firmly, wrapping her up again where she had contrived to become unwrapped. "You go to sleep; the storm has moved away and we're in no more danger of a lightning strike."

She murmured a protest; but he laid her firmly upon the bed, kissed her once, quickly, and left her.

Amaryllis came back in at his bidding; and the two girls embraced.

"Busy night" said Roberta laconically.

"You is so brave, Miss 'Berta!" said Amaryllis.

Roberta shrugged.

"It happened so fast there wasn't time to chicken out" she said . "Well, I'm ready for some sleep if you are."

"Sho' thing, Miss 'Berta!" said Amaryllis "And dis good rain make it cooler and easier to sleep too; specially as I'm plum tuckered out!"

"You and me both" said Roberta and promptly fell asleep.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

The next morning showed a very different town to the one in which they had gone to sleep. There was a stream instead of a road outside the hotel and much of the town was flooded out, and people living in the usual one storey buildings with false fronts had been driven from their homes, if they could get out in time, as the waters rose. Corpses were being laid out of those drowned in the rapidly rising waters; or, as Manco said, those who had died of exposure for being in cold water and unable to get to higher ground and died of being wet through. The dead were largely women and children.

"They're like you were before I trained you" said Mortimer to Roberta "Willing, and tough enough to come west; but still essentially not fully fit. Add to that skirts to weigh them down and the poor creatures never had much of a chance. The waters rise fast in the desert; no chance to sink in. That storm in the mountains swelled the river, the rain here just put the lid on it."

"Rose fifteen feet overnight, mister, above the normal river level, and still rising" said a passer by. "Glad I listened to the missus when she told me to pick a lot on a rise. 'George' she said "You've seen drownded people in arroyos as we came west; don't you let us be one of them. Sent me down to give a roof to them as have been flooded out; are you people all okay?"

"Thank you; yes" said Mortimer "We're at a hotel – and I picked one on a rise because I didn't like the sky. Just passing through. But if we can contribute to a soup fund if your wife's expecting to feed people….." he handed over some bills; and Manco and Roberta did likewise.

"Well thank you kindly" said the man "I won't say no; and any left, that'll go to a fund to help get people clothes again."

The gesture was not unnoticed and the man found himself the recipient of more spontaneous offerings from those people who had not suffered much if any damage.

One pair of eyes was speculative; and Mortimer strolled over to the man speculating. He looked part Mexican, as indeed did many of the townsfolk; who were otherwise as disparate in their features as any might be from blonde, blue eyed Scandinavians to those of obvious Chinese descent.

"If that good man gets rolled" said the Colonel "I shall be taking issue with you, hombre; so if I was you, I'd just stop thinking any thoughts of profiting from the misfortunes of others and the generosity of their neighbours. Me entiendes, amigo?"

The man scowled.

"You got a nasty mind" he said; but he had taken in the easy way Mortimer wore his gun, and the way he moved; and he turned and left the scene with almost unseemly haste.

"Well spotted old man" said Manco.

"Oh just living up to the badge" said Mortimer.

"No, enjoying terrorising the baddies" said Roberta.

"That too" agreed Mortimer, getting out his pipe. "Think we'll wait over another day before travelling to let the waters drop a little."

"And I need female clothing" said Roberta.

"Tuh you can borrow a dress from Amaryllis" said Mortimer. "'Less you're looking to cut a fashionable dash; which you ain't going to do in a dress bought in Phoenix anyroad."

"Depends if Amaryllis minds" said Roberta.

"Yo' take whatever yo' needs honey" said Amaryllis generously.

"Thank you" said Roberta "We shall BOTH cut a fashionable dash back east; I might even wear corsets briefly to make a point. And Amaryllis will be my companion not my maid."

"Are y'all hoping to get shot at?" said Mortimer.

"Well I wouldn't want life in the east to get too boring, would I?" said Roberta.

"Yup, she's your born mate all right" said Manco.

oOoOo

Mortimer utilised the time in writing out a marriage contract for himself and Roberta; Roberta had of course given Mortimer her full real name for the contract, Leroyna Roberta Everard; explaining with a sniff that her father's name was Leroy and he wanted his daughter to have a version of it, but that he was the only person to use it.

"I can see why most people use your second name" said Mortimer.

"It was mama's father's name; Robert Redcastle" said Roberta. "That's why my father don't like it above half. And it was partly for Robert E. Lee; mama's little rebellion. Back when she could still manage them" she added softly and regretfully.

Mortimer kissed her gently. When he had his property back he would take her mother into his own household; and let Leroy Everard complain about it!

Next thing to be done was to sign the contract in front of witnesses; so Mortimer took Roberta and Manco to see the Marshal. He was not about to have any redneck questioning the legality of the document by having Joseph or Amaryllis sign it.

"There's a long story here, Marshal" said Mortimer "And when a villain like Gamaliel Gellibrand wants to paw a young girl you can see that she would take some desperate measures."

"If you're trying to tell me that Snakekiller Bobby is a girl, Niyol already worked that out" said Peters calmly "I'd never have guessed; but Niyol sees further than most people do."

"Well that cuts out a lot of time and embarrassing explanation" said Roberta, pleased. "We're signing a wedding contract and we hoped you'd be a witness for us."

"Can't get much more legal than a marshal" said Manco.

"Miss, er, Everard, is it your WISH to marry Colonel Mortimer or is it just an escape from Gellibrand?" asked Peters

Roberta snorted.

"I HAVE escaped Gellibrand" she said. "I want to marry Douglas."

"Fair enough" said Peters "I had to ask. Fine; you sign it and Manco and me'll sign too."

"And I wouldn't for anyone else old man" said Manco, appending his signature to theirs after Mortimer and Roberta had both signed in front of their witnesses.

Mortimer glanced at his signature.

"No, I can see why not" he said "Parents who saddle their kids with names like that have to be sick in the head."

"Well if you use either of them I kill you" said Manco.

"Manco, if I used either of them, I'd deserve it" said Mortimer, folding up the document and putting it away in his inside pocket.

"Can I ask?" said Roberta.

"Best not" said Mortimer. "I heard he killed a man for laughing at his mule. Who knows what he'd do if you laughed at his name?"

"Manco if they're that bad, you have my sincere sympathy" said Roberta.

"That's why I'm the man with no name" said Manco "Makes it easier not having any."

"If it's worse than my father's – Leroy – I can see why" said Roberta.

"Far worse" said Manco. His tone said that this was the end of the discussion. Roberta gave in with good grace; after all, to her he was Manco, and a friend. She might itch with curiosity but it was none of her business and not information he wanted to share; so that must do for her.

oOoOo

Many of the trails followed arroyos or streams; and following them would be out of the question until the flooding subsided. However with the flawless blue skies and the metallic taste of heat in the air from the earliest hour when they arose it was plain that the floods would not be there for many days; and though they would pick the higher ground to follow going east, the going would be easier for the bloom of grass and flowers soft under the feet of the horses. Bottlebrush was green and the scent of myrtle was redolent in the air after the rains. Bright flowers bloomed and reproduced quickly in the respite from the usual drought; and though it was going to be hot later it started cool enough to be pleasant.

Less pleasant were the bodies of animals and the odd human who had been caught by the floodwater roaring down dry streambeds, stranded now on the sides of streams become innocuous as they receded back almost to their normal beds, or to slender trickles that would soon disappear. Roberta drew all the faces; by the time anyone came to collect them, wild beasts and the rapid decomposition of hot lands might well render them unrecognisable; with sketches at least the Sheriff's office had a good chance of finding someone who might put a name to the faces. It was the last, and only, service that might be readily rendered to them; Mortimer, Manco and Joseph threw up hasty cairns for the unfortunates to keep the worst ravages of wild animals from them and made a note of where they were; but it was all they could do.

And presently Roberta went behind a pile of rocks and with help from Amaryllis put on one of the girl's dresses; Amaryllis insisting that Miss 'Berta wear her Sunday best frock. It was a practical as well as smart garment, black sateen cotton, heavily pintucked on the waist into the narrow waistband and more material in the skirt than an everyday dress, with a heavy flounce. The sleeves were plain and straight with fullness at the head enough to make it comfortable to wear; and Amaryllis sighed in satisfaction.

"Oh Miss 'Berta you look better in that than ever I done" she said.

"Black isn't a flattering colour for you" said Roberta.

"No Miss 'Berta; but it does for funerals as well to be respe'cable in" said Amaryllis. "Yo' pretty rose coloured dress yo' done give me that wuz took off me by yo' ma bein' too fine fo' a po' negr' girl."

"WELL!" said Roberta, her eyes sparking angry fire "I never knew that; and after she told me to give it away because of the tear you mended so beautifully for me; I have no time for someone who may be downtrodden before the master of the house but takes it out in petty unkindness to her servants! You will wear rose pink, dear Amaryllis, and ivory and you and I will be a picture together!"

Amaryllis giggled.

"Folks will say I'm the master's mistress" she said.

"Let them" said Roberta "If it's thought he has a personal interest in you of that kind it will protect you."

"But Miss 'Berta, his good name…." Amaryllis worried.

"YOUR good name is more important" said Mortimer, who had heard the last bit of the exchange. "And you will live in my house as what I believe you to be – my NIECE. Your mother was likely enough my father's daughter; and I shall claim the relationship and then life can be as interesting as my please even Roberta."

"Oh HOW that will annoy people!" said Roberta in delight.

"Remind me not to visit you at home, old man, without life insurance and a lot of ammunition" said Manco.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

Lehi might not be built on the mesa that had given the unoriginal name to its sister town Mesa, where the Mesa company had settled to open more canals, but the community had avoided being badly flooded out. There really was a community spirit that pulled together; and it was noticeably mixed Indian and white. The strangers were welcomed; and the preacher, taking in immediately that Joseph and Amaryllis were obvious friends not servants drew his own conclusions over why the group had come out to Lehi to celebrate the nuptials of two of their number. His own community had been split when he had invited the local Indian population to become a part of the community; and he had his own views on racism. Accordingly he was delighted to see what he referred to as sisters and brothers in the Lord with such close friendships transcending skin colour.

The preacher was more interested in knowing if the happy couple were good Christians than if their paperwork was spot on; and offered to baptise them into his church. Roberta firmly said that she had been baptised at birth and she didn't think that the Good Lord had missed noticing this so a second time was quite unnecessary; and Mortimer agreed.

The ceremony was simple and moving, and all the details were scrupulously recorded. The law called for scrupulous record keeping on births marriages and deaths but in many places was more noted for the absence than the observance of the same.

Roberta handed over the drawings she had made too; the preacher seemed more efficient than a lot of the law men she had seen to date bar Marshal Falk Peters, whose record had got around Phoenix fast enough – together with the ruthless handling of miscreants by his new deputies – to keep most gold hunters quiescent.

Preacher Jones looked them over gravely.

"One of these is a brother of ours; another I know by sight from Mesa; the other two, the man and woman, are strangers to me" he said "I will organise carts to collect the bodies and give them a Christian burial; and apprise the relatives of those I know. You are a young woman of fortitude to execute such excellent sketches of the dead like this; a God-given talent."

"It was all I could do that was practical" said Roberta. "I pray that the relatives of those you do not know might be found."

"If it is God's will they will" said Jones "And if not, HE knows who that are and that is what really counts."

Roberta decided that disagreeing was not a good idea and just smiled; though frankly she thought it a trifle fatuous when they might be the parents of a young family who would starve if not quickly found and cared for. It was probable that they were a childless couple travelling West in search of work and opportunity; and had they left small children with a waggon then surely her own party must have found sign of it. But it was the principle. She reminded herself that Preacher Jones was a good man who did not care for colour or race; and hoped that with pictures available his obvious energy would manage to get the matter resolved. Roberta belonged to the race of Martha and felt that merely being glad that God knew who the dead might be was a bit more of the style of Mary.

She was now a married woman; and beamed upon her husband.

"Do we stay over here or get back on the road?" she asked.

Mortimer dithered.

"You're entitled to one night's honeymoon old man" said Manco. "Gellibrand won't expect miracles from Joseph; and another day won't make much difference."

oOoOo

Douglas Mortimer assisted his wife to undress. Though the desert night would drop in temperature it was still quite warm; and it was not a chill in the air that caused her to shiver.

Mortimer kissed her gently on the lips.

"I wish I were taking jewellery off as well" he said "My mother's jewellery; which I hope may be safe where I buried it. The pearls may have rotted though" he added sadly "Pearls like to be handled."

"I don't need jewels" said Roberta "I need you and I like to be handled too."

Mortimer chuckled; and ran his hands down her body.

"You do, do you?" he said "Well fair's fair; you must help me undress too."

"I thought you'd never ask" said Roberta pulling at hie tie.

The next few minutes were a trifle frenetic; and Roberta was left blushing, laughing and breathless by the time her husband was divested of clothing while he hindered her in that endeavour with kisses and caresses.

"Oh my!" said Roberta "It works just like in the drawings you did for me! All that for me?"

Mortimer chuckled.

"Well it sure as hell ain't for Manco" he said.

"I swear, like Captain Jinks' horse you must feed it on corn and beans" said Roberta, tentatively touching.

Mortimer groaned and picked her up to sit her on his lap on the bed.

"I ain't about to rush this, Roberta" he said "I don't want to scare you…."

Roberta giggled.

"I guess I might have been a little taken aback without the instruction manual on how to keep your weapon greased that you drew" she said.

"Roberta!" he flushed and laughed "It was a purely impersonal description ….."

"Well I DO have enough of an imagination to make it a bit more personal" said Roberta, wriggling at him.

"You talk too much, woman" said Mortimer, kissing her to rectify that. He rolled back onto the bed, pulling her with him; and lifting her with ease to lower her down, ready to draw back at any moment that she should stiffen or show distress.

Roberta assisted the operation with great enthusiasm and Mortimer decided that miraculously his wife was quite ready for anything and gave himself up to her demands.

The night passed in a great deal of enjoyment; Douglas Mortimer had never realised just how demanding a wife could be and how somehow he was sufficiently obsessed with her that he could manage to be ready to live up to her demands. They rested together, Roberta lying cradled in his arms in the deep velvet desert night, stars like diamonds shining through the square of the window.

"Douglas?" asked Roberta

"Mmm'mm?" said Mortimer, breathing in the scent of her soft curls.

"How do married people stay awake all day if they're this busy all night?" she wanted to know.

Douglas chuckled.

"Normally after a few days of exploring each other – the purpose of a honeymoon – they are ready to settle down to a more survivable rate of lovemaking of once or twice a day for weekdays at least" he said. "Though I've heard it said some people manage on once a week or even once a month."

Roberta digested this.

"Must be poor diet" she decided. "Douglas?" her hands went exploring.

"What, again, woman?" he teased, pushing her back down onto the bed.

The couple finally fell asleep as the first grey light of dawn banished the stars from the sky; and when they awoke the sun was high and lying together was uncomfortably sticky.

"Ugh" said Roberta "It's wooden houses; adobe wouldn't get so darn hot."

"Practical as always" said Douglas. "No complaints?"

"Yes" said Roberta "You haven't kissed me good morning."

This being rectified – which led to the decision that being hot and sticky was something that could be lived with – Roberta twinkled at him.

"Of course some of the physical manifestations of being married are a trifle SHOCKING, Douglas" she said.

"They are?" he looked concerned.

She giggled.

"Yes; you've grown a cactus on your chin overnight" she said.

He placed a smart rebuke on her backside.

"Don't worry me like that you minx!" he said, laughing with her. "I'll shave presently; there's water in the ewer I think."

There was a knock at the door.

Douglas pulled the sheet over both of them.

"What is it?" he called, hoping it was not an emergency.

"Are you ready for water for a bath, Colonel?" called Joseph who was compromising the way he addressed Mortimer here.

"Joseph, you got your wings and a halo laid out for you!" called Mortimer.

"Do you think we could both fit in it together?" said Roberta.

"No; and we aren't even going to try" said Mortimer. "They've had one flood here; another might be too much to take."

oOoOo

When they emerged and met up with the others, Manco gave Mortimer a look of respect and a nod. Mortimer reflected that the wooden walls in the house that had been turned over to their use had been quite thin, and went a dull red; and hoped that the thought would not occur to Roberta.

Fortunately she was enough of an innocent not to think about the sounds of enthusiastic lovemaking carrying; and probably did not recall how vocal she had been.

He gave a rueful grin.

Well they were married so it was quite legitimate!

He took refuge in filling his pipe carefully for a morning….. well, afternoon…smoke. They would be on their way after eating; and then Roberta might go back to her boy's clothes if she chose.

And when they had Gamalial Gellibrand proven a crook she should dress in silks and velvets if she chose or pants if she preferred.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

Roberta was glad to get back to the comfort of male attire; and besides the tight trousers showed off her legs rather nicely and Douglas had professed an admiration of them more than once during the night. She blushed fierily just thinking about it; and caught his eye.

It was too eloquent an exchange of looks to be permitted if there were others present!

"You two want to watch the way you look" said Manco.

"It is a little obvious" said Joseph.

"It's romantic" said Amaryllis.

"Well, I guess we'd better hope to get a lot of the looking out of our systems while there's only you bunch of rapscallions who know our guilty secret around" said Mortimer.

"Old man, if I'd had any idea you were that spruce I'd have suggested a three day honeymoon instead of one night in the hopes of exhausting you both" said Manco dryly. "Well we ain't like to meet nobody except prospectors and bandits out here and the one'll be looking mostly at the ground and t'other will be gazin' into the unromantic eyes of our six shooters."

Once they were on the trail the rather spooky silhouette of the Superstition Mountains could be seen, away to the east and blue and insubstantial in the haze. The closer they came the more obvious it was that its sheer cliffs and deep gorges were not for the fainthearted; it appeared to have been cloven as though, said Roberta, by a giant having a tantrum with a felling axe.

"Not hardly surprising the mine ain't been found by anyone else" said Manco. "Reckon it'd take you a day to go four-five miles on what look flat on the map, never mind looking for anything as well."

"Which is why we're not going to bother" said Mortimer "We're going close enough for Joseph to have a look so he can make some kind of description to be convincing; to, er, add verisimilitude to a bald and unconvincing narrative."

"Best description is downright spooky" said Joseph "That was a quote, Doug; what's it from? It ain't Shakespeare."

"Gilbert and Sullivan – English writers of operetta" said Mortimer.

oOoOo

There was a small settlement at the end of the valley called Gold Valley; where indeed a large scale war appeared to be taking place while the few locals hid.

"Way I see it we have two choices" said Manco, spitting out the end of his cigar "We can go in there and stop them fighting and arrest 'em all; or we can let them do our job for us by killing off a sufficient proportion to make it easier for us."

"We don't know if either side has any right to them" said Roberta.

"Pardon me Mrs Mortimer" said Manco "But when half of each side have their holsters tied, likelihood is there ain't a lot of right on either side."

"A point" said Roberta "Why did I stop being Bobby by the way?"

Manco grinned.

"Because it made you jump, kid, to get called by your married name."

oOoOo

Watching the battle it became more obvious that the two groups were indeed opportunist bravos not genuine miners; and then Roberta spotted and pointed out the man tied to the post.

This was the point at which the posse rode into the village, stopping to cut the man down and assist him to the nearest adobe shack. He had been badly beaten.

"Amaryllis, care for him" said Roberta "I don't care for people who beat on old men."

The man was lined with years, and what proportion of his heritage might be Mexican and how much Indian Roberta did not care to guess; but he was in a parlous state and the woman of the house where they had taken him came forward to give him aid.

The three gunfighters clinked out onto the dirt road while Joseph took charge of the horses; as he said, give him a rifle and he was as good as any man, but he had never used a six shooter.

One of the men of one of the entrenched groups of bravos had noticed that there were more protagonists in the battle; and that the captive was gone. He yelled,

"HEY! TRUCE! GET THESE NEWCOMERS; THEY HAVE OUR SOURCE!"

"Recognise any faces Bobby?" asked Manco.

"I make it a total of pushing twenty thousand" said Roberta, interpreting that question liberally.

"Me too" said Manco.

"Ain't you going to earn it then?" said Mortimer, starting to clinically take down the advancing bravos at extreme range.

"Well ma'am you sure put some pep into him" said Manco as he and Roberta joined in the gun fight.

It was a short, ugly battle; the two rival groups were as wary of each other as of the newcomers and were, thought Roberta, surprisingly bad shots. She supposed it was probably something to do with the criminal mindset that wanted quick returns for little expenditure of effort; that they did not practice, on the whole, every day. Mortimer and Manco dropped every man they shot at; Manco cursed to be winged on the cheekbone and if anything increased his rate of fire. And the three bounty hunters fired at a range that was beyond that of most gunfighters; and fired accurately at that. Roberta fired more slowly than the other two; but made every shot tell.

The loud CLANG behind them as they mopped up the last of the resistance made Roberta swing round; to see that Joseph had cheerfully plied a bucket and had felled a man who had crept round behind them.

"Excellent Joseph; a prisoner!" she said gaily. Joseph grinned and proceeded to tie his prisoner up.

oOoOo

"So what did those miscreants want of you, grandfather?" asked Roberta now the poor old man had been cleaned up, given water, and looked a lot better.

"I'm part Goshute young one" said the old man "Brought up a slave to Apaches. Well I was just a boy – younger than you – when my master and his son happened on a man with bags full of gold. They attacked him; but he had a partner, who shot them with a rifle. Me, I rolled behind rocks; they never saw me, the two white men. I watched them for days; not out of any desire for revenge, I was glad enough to see my master die. I watched how they dug out the gold, and hid the mine; and how the one who had saved me from slavery and his partner from certain death was gunned down in cold blood by that very partner. And then he went away. I know now his name was Jacob Walz and that he's dead and that other people want to know where his mine is."

"And how did they come to think that you knew?" asked Roberta.

"Because I wanted to serve him a bad turn; and when this village took me in – they're mostly Hopi – I brought down gold to help out. And to buy my way to not being enslaved by them. Not a lot o' gold; just enough to make a difference. We don't need much; we don't have to be greedy. But someone I sold ore to talked about it I suppose. I suppose you want to know where it is?"

Roberta shrugged.

"To be honest we don't really care that much; we're supposed to be helping a marshal stop brigands making a blood bath of the area. Looks like our job got done for us by some of the precious villains on our list. We can go back to Phoenix now."

The old man looked around the newcomers and laughed.

"Well I never did see so many honest men in one room before" he said "Untouched with the lust of gold. YOU" he pointed to Manco "You want to know; but you ain't greedy."

"Curious, old man" said Manco "Curious what all the fuss is over."

"It's a hole in the ground" said the elderly Indian. "A hole in the ground with a bit of gold in it; nothin' more, nothing less. I won't live many years more; when I die the last one who knows where it is will be gone. Then the trouble will be gone. I ain't showin' you."

Manco shrugged.

"Your right" he said. If he was disappointed at all he did not show it; indeed his eyes held admiration for the old man's integrity.

"Are there any others in the mountains looking for it?" asked Mortimer.

"Yup" said the old man "Mostly harmless fools. They won't find it though. It ain't where any successful and sensible prospector would think o' lookin'. I ain't goin' out there again; ain't worth it. Let the secret die; let the story die."

"It won't" said Manco cynically "It'll grow with the telling."

"But it won't have no fuel" said the elderly Indian.

"And we'll spread the word that the last man who knows died along o' these murdering bastards killing him" said Mortimer. "Hopefully you won't have any more trouble."

"My thanks" said the old one.

oOoOo

The prisoner swore a lot.

"I don't like your language in front of a lady" said Manco.

"There ain't no ladies here" said the prisoner sullenly "Just a black piece o' tail…." He broke off with a yelp as Manco hit him on the mouth.

"I still don't like the way you talk in front of the lady" he said.

"I'm used to it, Mr Manco" said Amaryllis.

"Well you didn't ought to be" said Manco. "We need his head to display for the bounty; we don't need nothin' else. If he's wise he won't talk his head off like that."

"I should however like him to talk about his associates, whether there are any more of them, their adversaries and any possible allies they might have" said Mortimer.

"Well, let's get out of town and I'll build a nice fire to put his feet into" said Manco.

The prisoner started talking about relevant matters very quickly.

They had wiped out two whole gangs of opportunistic ne'er do wells; who eked out a living as sometime gunslingers, the odd bit of bounty hunting, especially of Indians, banditry, gambling and the occasional kidnap on the side, of attractive Indian girls to sell to brothels. His gang had affiliated over the lure of gold more by default than any ties of friendship or kinship, to oppose the Marston cousins, who they had been fighting and who had been first to have the idea of torturing the old Goshute. The prisoner's only regret seemed to be not having got to him first. At this point he diverged from telling the list of his crimes by way of a boast to suggest that if the old man's feet were placed in the fire, they might all of them split with more money than they could possibly imagine.

"I doubt that, you second rate punk" said Manco "I could imagine quite a lot. But I like mine clean."

"Doesn't trying to bribe a Marshal or his assistants carry a mandatory death penalty?" said Roberta brightly. "We could string him up now and save the county the cost of the rope by using his own belt."

"Your Marshal won't want me dead! I can testify that a Mr Fellowes who works for a fellow out East wants the mine to launder money from smuggling!" said the prisoner.

"Yeah? What's this fellow from the east's name then?" said Manco sounding sceptical.

"I dunno; I forgot. Sumpin' like preserves" said the man.

"Could it be Gellibrand?" asked Roberta.

"Yeah, could be" said the prisoner.

Mortimer grunted.

"Leading question, Snakekiller. And he ain't that certain of it that that'll stick. Well to get Fellowes he's worth keeping alive; but if he makes trouble he don't have to be undamaged. I'd be careful if I was you, punk; Snakekiller here shoots snakes and practising on your pinkies won't upset him any."

"I'd have to take his boots off though" said Roberta "Or I might take more than one toe at a time; and that would be just too bad for my reputation."

Terrorising people without any intention of harming them was good fun; and the man's terror was a little bit of payback for the poor old man they had been willing to torture for real.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

The dead bodies had been tied to hastily constructed travois; the horses of the bandits would help to take them back to Phoenix. The horses would fetch a reasonable sum in addition to the bounties; and Roberta and Mortimer would of course pool their shares to help build up his house and lands when he had possession of them again. There would be a lot to do.

"I want to dress you in silk, Roberta" he said "But I don't know if there'll be enough over."

"Well wasn't your mother the best dressed woman in the district even when she was so ill?" said Roberta "I don't much like sewing but if you will buy me a sewing machine it will be an investment and you can use that to employ a girl to help Amaryllis and me to dress ourselves by using over fabrics. I wager they're all laid away in lavender and mothballs in the loft and Gellibrand never got his fat body up there."

"Well, I have to say I never thought of that" said Mortimer "If you didn't mind…."

"I'm woman enough to be itching to get amongst those chests of old clothes" said Roberta happily. "Anyway, it takes me into a daydream well away from our accompanying disciples of flies who are more than fond of our cargo. Shall we pass south of the mesa to avoid shocking the good people of Lehi either with out bodies or er…"

"Or your body?" laughed Mortimer. "It might be as well."

"Douglas" said Roberta "I was just thinking. I wondered if I should go back to skirts; you know, so I can be your wife properly. And live with you."

"Roberta, I should like that; but I do worry for your safety."

Roberta chuckled.

"Well I think that anyone who tried to attack me would be in for a shock, don't you? I learned enough dirty fighting techniques off you and Manco, and they certainly won't expect me to plug them with a Buntline Special."

"There is that" he conceded. "You could have your gowns made with special pockets and furbelows to conceal it."

"Douglas, not across my belly! Haven't you SEEN Godey's Ladies book recently?"

"Can't say I ever have" said Mortimer. "Well I know that wearing a gun is a sartorial solecism but that goes for men too."

"The fronts of skirts are tight and pull back, even though the bustle is disappearing" said Roberta "It would show. I might go for a divided skirt out here though – admit my sex but also carry a gun openly. I'll have to go for a shorter gun with the holster tied to the thigh and a slit in the skirt to get to it if I want to wear proper skirts."

"Whatever you wear, my dear, you will be beautiful" said Mortimer warmly.

oOoOo

Back in Phoenix the bodies were turned over to the Marshal, together with a report; and he was glad to have a prisoner to question.

They returned to the hotel where they had retained rooms, with Roberta smuggled in; and Mortimer gave some money to Amaryllis to purchase some ready-made clothing to be going on with for Roberta.

Amaryllis returned with several purchases.

"Sho' honey, we can do a lot with this lot" she said cheerfully "Way I done figure it, yo' want to be feminine but be able to move; well, seems to me, yo' still young enough to have yo' skirt no longer than mid calf and nothin' t'stop yo' wearin' yo' riding boots to meet the bottom of the skirt. So long as we make sho' it's longer than a bar girl's skirt yo' be jes' fine, Miss Berta, honey. And this one done be so wide, sho' I though it might make into a divided skirt and be longer but still jes' so easy; and with an apron over, why, Miss Berta, yo' look jes' as 'spectable as any po-faced ol' besom if yo' need to."

Roberta laughed and embraced Amaryllis.

"You're a darling, Amaryllis!" she said "And I wish you will stop calling me MISS Berta; after all, if you want to add any qualification to my name, it should be AUNT if Douglas acknowledges your mother as his sister."

"Land sakes!" said Amaryllis "That is jes' downright foolishness!"

"Well I can't say I feel much like an aunt" said Roberta. "Now let's get me dressed; Douglas is busy hiring a single room for you so that he and I can take over this one as a married couple, now he's told the proprietor that his brother in law has taken him to his bride."

"Won't he notice how alike yo' are to Snakekiller Bobby?" asked Amaryllis, who was plying a rapid needle taking up the skirt of one of the secondhand costumes by the expedient of turning the extra length into a flounce to make it hang better as well; and which could, as she did not need to point out to Roberta, be rapidly let down at need. When they went East for example.

"The reason for declaring him my brother" said Roberta. "And we say, yes, we are very alike as befits twins but Bobby's hair is darker. It doesn't have to be as we won't be seen together; and if I wear my hair brushed forward in bangs for as long as I can bear having it on my forehead until people are used to me being me, and a big ribbon to simulate hair tied up, you'll be surprised what a difference it'll make; especially if I'm careful to wear only bonnets or a little frivolous sun hat not a wide hat such as I have been."

"Oh yo' will look so lovely in this blue linen suit!" said Amaryllis "Blue match yo' eyes so well; and oh! I does weep fo' yo' lovely hair that yo' have cut. But don' worry, honey; Amaryllis will make it look as pretty as if yo' never done cut it!"

Once Roberta was dressed in female attire, her slender waist emphasised by a wide waistband of the cornflower blue skirt, and froths of lace on the white cotton waist above it, and the wasp-waisted tailored jacket with navy velvet lapels she was every inch a woman and not sufficiently like Snakekiller Bobby to arouse more than a comment that there was a family resemblance. Amaryllis teased her honey coloured curls into little ringlets of whispy bangs and tied a navy blue chiffon scarf into a big bow which she ruthlessly pinned to the back of Roberta's head with hair pins. Roberta gazed into the rather fly-blown mirror.

"Not bad" she said. "You guessed my size pretty well."

"Sho' M- er, Berta, and me havin' dressed yo' from when we wus both li'l girls!" said Amaryllis in satisfaction "Same as yo' knowin' how far yo' target is when yo' is shootin'."

"I hadn't thought of it that way" said Roberta. "It's comforting though that even without a corset on I have a narrower waist than the previous owner."

"Yo' is jes beautiful" sighed Amaryllis in satisfaction.

"We are going to be a most fetching pair" said Roberta cheerfully. "Amaryllis, is Joseph Douglas' half brother?"

"Sho' honey I does not know" said Amaryllis. "And I ain't never axed him neither."

"Oh well, I shall" said Roberta. "I'd like to know if he's my brother-in-law or a family friend; etiquette and all that bothersome stuff."

oOoOo

Tripping into the small lounge bar where the men were, Roberta was rewarded by the gasp of appreciation from her husband. She went over to him.

"I suppose that even out west, it would be improper to sit on your knee, Douglas?" she said.

"Vastly, Mrs Mortimer" said Mortimer pulling her onto his knee. "Well I knew my wife was a lovely woman but these new kickshaws set you off admirably."

"Yo' wait 'til we see her in silks and satins, Uncle Douglas" said Amaryllis, still a little shy of using the family appellation.

"Indeed!" said Mortimer "I'll need to keep my guns about me when all the other fellows flock round! Manco, I'll have to call on your services!"

Manco grinned.

"Well old man, if you thought I was going to pass up the chance of seeing you being a fine gentleman and Mrs Mortimer seeing off the Ku Klux Klan with tea, cake and a Buntline you can think again" he said.

"Actually considering my cooking skills, rock cakes might indeed prove offensive weapons" said Roberta. "Douglas, are you and Joseph brothers?"

The men exchanged looks.

"We ain't never discussed it" said Joseph "It was one of them things that was tacitly left alone."

"But more than likely" said Mortimer.

Roberta studied them critically.

"You both have those almond shaped eyes that can't be so common" she said "Like Amaryllis. Well, that makes you my brother too; so you count as a chaperone if need be."

"I hadn't got as far as thinking about that level of propriety" said Douglas.

"Well one of us has to" said Roberta sweetly. "I take it that we're kicking our heels in town while our brother wires to the Lard Ball that he's having trouble getting payment on a shipment and that he's found the general location of the Lost Dutchman Mine and as nobody else has found it he can claim that he has?"

"More or less" Joseph answered "I need to pick up the shipment first; it'll be through soon. Mr Gellibrand has friends in the US Army who get him the weapons. Dis ol' negr' done make it good by'n'by."

"Better and better" said Douglas "THAT's treason. Peters will be pleased – well not pleased, but needs to know – that. Wire him about the mine, tell him that a Marshal has clamped down on people searching so that if you say you found it already he knows it's not likely to be really discovered. Actually you don't need to wire that; the Mail should get it there within a few days and then Amaryllis can write that she's writing on your behalf. So when he gets a wire it won't seem so odd."

"We have to kick our heels for as much as a couple of weeks then?" said Roberta, dismayed.

"Well, my darling, I don't know about you but I can think of a few things to fill in time" said Mortimer.

Roberta went scarlet and grinned at him adoringly.

"I guess" she said shyly "The timing could not have been a lot better".

"What I thought" said Mortimer.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

Colonel and Mrs Mortimer were not in to callers for several days; Amaryllis amused herself by exploring Phoenix to find out where there might be a haberdasher to purchase ribbons and lace for the purpose of, as she explained to Manco who volunteered to escort her, redding up Roberta's hastily purchased female clothes.

"Doubt she's wearing much right now" said Manco.

"No, Mr Manco, and the better for me to get ma hands on her clo'es for to make them pretty" said Amaryllis.

Manco laughed.

"You're going to be a fairly wealthy woman if the Colonel's acknowledging you as his niece" he said "You don't have to act the maid to Bobby."

"No Mr Manco I do not; it's ma pleasure to do so" said Amaryllis firmly. "Ain't I allus looked out for her? Helpin' her 'scape from the house when that pa o' hers is in one o' his bad moods; sho' that po' girl done had more whippings from that brute than any o' Mr Mortimer senior's slaves ever did; 'Berta's pa and that Gellibrand, what's his friend, they done be of the same stamp. Missus Everard, he done broke her spirit though she done take it out on ev'one else. Mr Manco, I'm going to buy some pink ribbons for ma Sunday black sho' I am!"

"You do that Miss Amaryllis" said Manco. "I wonder how Mr Everard is going to take the news that his daughter is married?"

"You know what, Mr Manco? I don' care because he can't do nuthin 'bout it" said Amaryllis "And when the Colonel come into his own again, sho' the old bugger will grind his teeth and smile acoss the Colonel will be the richest man in the neighbourhood. And he'll be mighty afraid of him too" she added in satisfaction.

oOoOo

"Did we ought to get up for more than just the odd meal, Douglas?" asked Roberta.

"Why, was there anything else you wanted to do?" asked Mortimer, running a caressing hand down her body. Roberta shivered in pleasure.

"No, but I was wondering if we were being rude to the others."

"Manco don't care, Joseph has my interests at heart and Amaryllis has your interests at heart and they'd be upset if we didn't take advantage of the delay" said Mortimer. "I'm an old man, Roberta and I need to take things slowly and savour them."

Roberta chuckled at him.

"You're a fraud, Douglas" she said "You're younger than a man half your age; whatever that actually is."

Mortimer laughed.

"You really truly don't care, do you, my darling?" he said. "Well I'm on the shady side of forty by a few years…. Nearer the fifty end than the forty."

"You must be very good to have been a colonel so young" said Roberta.

"There were a few of us who were colonels young; those of us who were survivors" said Mortimer. "Besides I lied about my age to join up. I was a veteran by the time I was your age my dear. Let's not talk about that; it was a very messy time. Let's move forward."

"Yes indeed" agreed Roberta "Are you going to shoot my father if he objects to me being married to you?"

"It wasn't on my agenda" said Mortimer.

"Oh? Pity" said Roberta.

"Your father can go to hell" said Mortimer. "I don't want thoughts of him in bed with me. Come here, woman!"

Roberta giggled and came there. It seemed like a very good idea…

oOoOo

The couple did get up the next day because, as Mortimer said, one could have too much of a good thing and sometimes a change was as good as a rest so they would spend a few days just looking around. And besides, they needed some target practice so they did not grow soft.

Roberta was happy to do anything her husband suggested; and as she said, some things were so very special that it was perhaps best to keep them special because you could not live on cake all the time however marvellous it might be.

A couple of slices a day would do just fine she added grinning.

Her husband kissed her and spanked her gently.

Wearing her cornflower blue suit, suitably trimmed by Amaryllis with a ruching of navy satin ribbon along the top of the flounce that shortened it to show some four inches of leg above Roberta's ankle and a navy straw bonnet trimmed with more ribbon by the indefatigable Amaryllis, Roberta knew that she looked very well indeed and in no wise appeared shabby next to her husband's well cut and expensive suits. Amaryllis had furbished up all her clothes with a touch of eastern modishness and the aid of the latest Godey's Lady's Magazine that she had been able to get her hands on.

The woman in fairly fine and moderately fashionable clothes who came up to the couple and said 'excuse me' also had a touch of eastern style about her.

Mortimer raised his hat.

"Ma'am" he said, neutrally.

The stranger smiled brightly; she was an attractive woman with shining chestnut hair caught back in a knot under a flowered straw hat.

"I do hope you'll forgive me for accosting you; but there are so few respectable women out here who are anything but miners wives or pioneer women; so I thought, perhaps that nice looking girl and her… husband…..will be kind enough to help me."

Her eyes had flicked to Roberta's finger where she wore the plain gold band Mortimer had purchased along with the wedding certificate. As Douglas Mortimer was a stickler in public there was nothing of the lover to betray their married status, other than the courtesy he displayed, that Roberta had to admit he would show any woman he walked with. His eyes rested on her warmly but if it was a guess on the part of this stranger it was a fortuitous one.

"And in what way do you need help?" asked Roberta.

"Perhaps you wouldn't mind coming into the hotel where I am staying so I might explain" said the woman. "I prefer not to speak in so public a place."

Roberta glanced at Douglas, who gave a brief, almost imperceptible nod and a small gesture that suggested being careful.

"Very well" said Roberta.

They followed the woman into a respectable looking hotel; she led them to a sofa in the lobby area, away from the youth on reception. This area had a number of potted plants in it so seem more homely. The plants looked in need of care.

"My name is Jacqueline Walz" she said. "I expect you know the surname; it's the name of my grandfather."

"It's a little hard not to have heard of Jacob Walz around here" said Mortimer, getting out his pipe.

Jacqueline Walz smiled.

"Quite so" she said. "However, most of the people who have heard of my grandfather and his mine are opportunists hoping to find it and make a killing. They won't" she added "It's far too well hidden. But my inheritance was the deed to it and the map. I own the mine legally."

"Indeed?" Mortimer sounded polite as he filled his pipe with care.

"Yes; and theoretically I'm a rich woman" she gave a brittle laugh "But there's a couple of small problems."

"Quite a number of small and not so small problems actually I'd say" said Mortimer.

Miss Walz smiled a thin smile.

"Indeed" she said. "Once I can exploit the mine my troubles are solved. But in order to exploit it I have to have working capital for both miners and for guards to guard it when it is discovered that it is working again. I am looking for a partner to invest – oh for a half share in all the profits from the mine, or at repayment with interest. I found a lawyer who understands how these things work but he couldn't find me an investor…..what?"

Mortimer had put down his pipe and was giving a slow hand clap.

"Very pretty ma'am" he said "One of the best attempts to scam me I've ever seen. And if I was in a hurry I'd not make a song and dance over it, but since I'm in no hurry, and since I AM carrying a deputy marshal's star, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to accompany me to the hoosegow."

"The hell I will!" she jumped up "Arnie! stop him!"

A thin man dressed like a lawyer appeared from where he had been loitering behind a rather sad looking potted plant, pulling a gun.

Mortimer's gun barked once and the man called Arnie yowled in pain as the gun was shot from his hand.

Roberta dived on the counterfeit Jacqueline Walz and brought her to the ground with a tackle to the knees.

Mortimer grinned.

"And not what she'd have expected from a demure lady like yourself my dear" he said, grabbing and manhandling the man.

Roberta patted the woman down ruthlessly and took the derringer from her waistband where it nestled in a concealed pouch in the small of her back; and they took their prisoners away.

The receptionist looked rather pale when he emerged from under his desk; but otherwise a single gunshot did not seem to have elicited much more response than a few doors being opened to see what was happening, and being closed again once it was clear that the show was over. Frontier towns had the odd touch of excitement like that.

oOoOo

The lawman on duty was taken aback to have a couple of criminals, one of them a pretty woman, brought in by an immaculately clad gentleman and an obvious lady; but was all ears when Mortimer flashed his badge at him.

Mortimer wrote out a report in his beautiful copper plate and Roberta dictated a statement and signed it, beaming at the lawman and telling him that apart from at their wedding this was the first time she had signed her married name.

"Purty lady like you must find it hard bein' a dep'ty's wife" said the lawman.

Roberta beamed.

"Oh Douglas manages to find me a bit of excitement in the pursuance of his duty" she said. "Have you a clothes brush? I have dust on my skirt."


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

"Douglas" said Roberta "I could tell she was lying from the way she kept firmly looking me in the eye while her mouth's smile didn't reach her eyes and her hands said different things to her mouth. But what I don't understand is why was she lying?"

"Because she wanted us to give her money" said Mortimer.

"As an investment in the mine; it would make a mint if it hasn't been worked out. Knowing where it is surely is half the battle?" said Roberta.

"Innocent babe!" teased Mortimer "She has less idea of where it is than we do; she wanted the money. Once we'd invested and had a nice gilt-edged contract drawn up by her friend the counterfeit lawyer, do you think they'd hang around for us to find that the contract was worth zippo? She might have tried it on a few people before she quit town, but quit town she would have done – with the investment dollars of those who thought they were onto a good thing."

"But that's worse than just STEALING!" said Roberta, shocked "She was ready to lie and shake hands on the deal! And have PAPERWORK about it!"

Mortimer laughed.

"After gaining our confidence; that is why such is called a confidence trick" he explained. "The simplest form is to ask a mark to hold and administer a large charitable fund but as a sign of confidence they must put some sum of money up themselves that will be returned once their bona fides is established. This was a neat twist in utilising the old Dutchman. In my book it's akin to cheating at a card or dice game. But there is some more sympathy to be had with such characters; because only the greedy who hoped to take advantage of a lonely woman's predicament were likely to be caught out. But it had to be stopped" he added.

"I can see I still have much to learn about the seamier side of life" said Roberta sadly.

"Never mind, my dear; better to learn by explanation than from experience" said Mortimer. "This is quite a new crime; it relies on people wanting to get something for doing very little; and on people being unwilling to look like untrusting misers. The first instance of it – a very crude version – was back in 1840's when a man called Thomson asked gentlemen with whom he had pretended an acquaintance if they had the confidence in him to take care of their watches. Naturally their confidence turned out to be misplaced; because what he did was unthinkable for a gentleman. This was in New York."

"Oh New York!" said Roberta "I did hear that you have to be careful leaving New York not to look back in case you get turned into a pillar of salt!"

Mortimer laughed.

"I don't believe it is quite as bad as the Cities of the Plains but any big city will attract vice and criminals; look at El Paso! I'm sure we should have met with con artists – as they are commonly known – had we stayed there much longer. We obviously look eminently respectable."

"You look quite delicious, Douglas" said Roberta.

"Do you know, I think we should return to the hotel and explore that concept" said Mortimer "Besides, your linen suit has taken quite a wrinkling from grabbing that wretched woman. It's the one drawback of linen."

Roberta sighed.

"Yes; I believe I should stick to calico and cotton challis" she said. "They wear better than finer cottons…..Douglas, I must be being very stupid today, I just realised why you suggested going back to the hotel! And I concur utterly!" she added, flushing prettily.

oOoOo

It was early evening before the Mortimers sallied out again; and Roberta looked very crisp in a pale pink chambray waist and the navy divided skirt that Amaryllis had completed, there being enough fabric in an extensive and now unfashionable bustle – though plenty of women in the town were still wearing them – that Amaryllis had been able to piece a jacket with three quarter sleeves to complete the taille of the suit over the waist. Trimmed with pink ribbons, and a pink chiffon scarf tied about the navy straw made it a chic enough ensemble for Roberta to be both satisfied with her appearance and glad that Amaryllis was clever enough to make it a lot more easy to move in than it looked. A pink-trimmed apron garniture hid any signs of the division of the skirt and provided a clever pocket to permit Roberta to wear her buntline under the frou-frous. There had been a LOT of material in the bustle.

oOoOo

The whole group had sallied out to eat in the nearest approximation to a restaurant offered in the town; it served drinks at a bar as well as having an eating area, and offered a dance floor with pianist for those who wanted a little social contact. It was, even so, not a place where men checked their guns before entering.

The moderately competent looking man in a sharp suit whose holster was attached to his thigh with a fancy tooled strap eyed up Roberta with interest. He moved over to their table. He was about thirty; and he wore some kind of scented pomade to slick down his hair.

"I could give you a better time than the old man, sweetheart" he said.

"Are you addressing me?" asked Roberta.

"Oh excellent; plummy eastern voice too. But you're far too pretty to be respectable" said the man. "You hang out with professionals; one rather scabrous looking and one past his best. I'm a pro and I could give you a good time and dress you in silks too."

"You haven't got a clue, have you?" said Roberta, deciding to treat it with an air of amusement. "My husband and his friend are many times more competent than you; because you haven't noticed my wedding band; or that my husband wears his Buntline in the way only top professionals do; nor have you recognised him and the man with no name which means you're a Johnny-come-lately. You also have a pretty odd idea of fashion if you think that any woman would be fool enough to wear silk in a climate like this where it's going to mark easily with perspiration, stick to her uncomfortably and look very sad very quickly. It's also not hard wearing. Why I daresay if it came to a contest I could outshoot you too; you poor apology for a half-baked bounty hunter, you look the part but you're all squeak and no trousers."

"Couldn't have put it better myself Mrs Mortimer" said Manco.

"I suggest sonny that you get the hell out of here or I'll knock your teeth through the back of your neck for casting aspersions on my wife" said Mortimer.

"Bring it on, old man" said the stranger, an ugly look in his eye "And when I've finished with you, your – wife – gets to belong to me as the spoils of victory."

Douglas Mortimer unwound his long body and yawned in the stranger's face; but was ready to block the angry blow aimed at him.

His own blow was a fast jab to the jaw that caused his opponent to lose all further interest in the proceedings.

Douglas signalled for a waiter; he got immediate service.

"Waiter, I'd be obliged if someone carried out the garbage" he said pleasantly, passing a folded bill.

"Yessir!" said the waiter, beckoning another of his kind to collect the now groaning semi-conscious body to propel faster out of the door than he had come in.

"And I wanted to humiliate him by being a better shot" said Roberta.

"Very likely my dear; but you see, a man is not going to stand by and let that bastard call his wife a whore, however obliquely put, as he did" said Mortimer.

"I DID understand his inference correctly then!" said Roberta "I am glad you hurt him, Douglas."

A brawl was apparently no reason for the pianist to stop playing; and Mortimer suggested a turn about the dance floor while they waited for their meal. Roberta was delighted.

"Now I can show off some of the things I had well drummed into me in that fancy school" she said.

"I only hope I can keep up" Mortimer's eyes twinkled. "But they do say that a Southern Gentleman is born knowing how to dance, ride and shoot Yankees."

oOoOo

After an enjoyable evening Mortimer warned them to be careful on leaving in case the other bounty hunter was still around looking for trouble; and indeed his warning was justified.

The man was waiting outside.

"You and me, old man!" he shouted "Your gun against mine!"

Mortimer eyed him with dislike.

"As you choose, you young fool" he said. "Excuse me while I put some distance between us; whatever you have on your hair smells of the whorehouse you presumably live in."

The other man started to pull his gun while Mortimer was still walking away; but evidently thought better of it hearing Manco's gun cock on a faster draw. Roberta did not bother to cock hers but kept it loosened and ready. She knew better than to interfere in a fight but if this fellow even wounded her Douglas, he was going to die, she vowed.

She did not really feel any concern; the best shot in the Carolinas was not about to have any difficulty.

And Mortimer turned; saw his opponent was already half drawn and sneered as he went for his own gun.

The stranger's shot was wild, but still good enough to carry Mortimer's hat off; because he had the edge of having started to draw before his opponent was ready. He did not see his near success however since his heart was stopped by Mortimer's bullet and he was dead before he even started to crumple and fall.

"The difference between self-assurance and stupid cockiness" said Mortimer. "I thought you were like that at first, boy; but you had the skills to back it up."

"I don't recall I ever insulted women or got into fights over them though" said Manco eyeing the dead bounty hunter with distaste. "A man doesn't have to be an idiot as well as cocky."

"Nope" said Mortimer. "You never were an idiot. And when we tangled it was because of both wanting the same bounty. That's different."

"Yup" agreed Manco spitting out a cigar stub. "Well that's the floor show over for the night; might as well go home."


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

It might have been tedious kicking their heels had not Douglas and Roberta been so besotted of each other that all days held something of a roseate hue; Manco had the capacity for patience, as did Joseph and Amaryllis was content to occupy her days reading such fashion magazines as she might – especially when she discovered that she might order them from out east – and purchasing fabric and second hand clothing to make up and make over for herself and Roberta on the generous allowance Mortimer was making her.

Once he discovered that she was buying fabrics and trims for the both of them he gave her a wad of notes and told her to play with that.

Amaryllis was quite content to stay in Phoenix as long as was necessary!

Roberta loved to look around the town looking innocent and respectable with her husband and seeing the difference it made to how she was treated to the way a young gunslinger was treated.

"And an irony" she said "That I am given more respect in some ways and less in others; I am treated with courtesy as a lady but not expected to actually be able to DO anything."

"And you'll be given more respect in that way out here in the West than back East" said Douglas, taking his pipe out of his mouth to wave it for emphasis. "I was a babe when a ship sank – it was in England, I think on the Thames – and all the men and boys were saved and all the women and girls drowned. It wasn't just their skirts; they literally didn't have the strength to hold onto ropes to save their lives, and women in America were, and often are even today, no different. Women and girls are often encouraged to be useless ornaments. Now in the war, women and girls did a lot to help their menfolk; but real ladies are still coddled rather. Well, you know how tough you found my training of you; and you were no shrinking violet to have come in search of me in the first place. America is a land of paradoxes, my love; we praise the strength of the pioneer woman whilst holding up delicate beauties on a pedestal. And that's another paradox; American manhood puts American womanhood on a pedestal – and then can't resist peering up her skirts. There's a lot of whores around who are exploited because nice girls are too revered and aren't expected to enjoy the physical side of marriage."

"Poor things" said Roberta "I enjoy the physical side of marriage a very great deal."

He grinned.

"Funnily enough I'd noticed" he said.

They were watching the spectacle of a harassed – and it must be said, rather officious – Claims Officer trying to deal with half a dozen miners and their assorted families who were not ready to take any excess officialdom from him. It was, as Mortimer said cheerfully, none of their business and one might as well just enjoy the show as the government representative's voice grew shriller and more desperate while the miners told him where he might get off. They were genuine miners looking to stake proper claims, not go searching for legendary mines and as such quite entitled to do so.

What fascinated Roberta was the way people came and went; this was definitely a town of transient populations alongside its permanent population, most of whom were employed in such jobs as served the more transient members. The satisfaction of such requirements as liquor, food, women and gambling – not necessarily in that order – were obvious; and stores of supplies for those heading for mining camps or heading further West or to stake claims; saddlery shops, haberdashers and hardware stores to replace essentials; and a large number of laundries, mostly run by those of Chinese extraction, who seemed to live largely in their own part of the town in Montezuma street and around it; all the servants in the hotel were Chinese who seemed to occupy the lower status jobs in the town, as labourers, servants and miners. However the restaurateurs seemed to be largely Chinese too, and a significant number of those who brought vegetables into the town for sale. Apparently the population was unpopular with many other residents of Phoenix; Roberta heard a number of complaints about laundries supposedly operating without a licence and grumbles that the Chinese had a monopoly on laundries, restaurants and market gardening; her comment was that if they had the industry to found businesses, other people should get off their backsides and do likewise rather than moaning.

Roberta, being Roberta, had discovered that the maid who cleaned their rooms was known as Rose Yee and that in her own language would be Yee Méi because Chinese surnames came first; that Ah was a diminutive often given as a name to children or servants and that Sam was sir; so that Ah Sam who owned a laundry was Little Sir so far as Roberta could judge. Rose – she preferred to be given an American name than be mispronounced – had grown up in America, one of a mere handful of Chinese women. She told Roberta that there were moves afoot to move Chinatown somewhere where it would offend rich white businessmen less. Roberta sighed; it was going to happen. What businessmen wanted generally came to pass; really she preferred more honest bandits who pointed guns to demand what they wanted in a more up front way.

oOoOo

Colonel and Mrs Mortimer were eating out, a quiet dinner for just the two of them, at Rose Yee's uncle's restaurant when they were able to see how the attitudes of the more subtle bandits of society influenced the less subtle ones.

The group of four men who came into the restaurant produced guns.

"Give us the week's take; I know you ain't banked it yet" said the leader.

"Do you 'spect to get away with this?" asked Jim Yee.

"Sure we will; our word against a Chink" said the leader offensively.

"Hhmmmm" said Mortimer "I think you'll find him adequately backed by witnesses."

The robbers turned to the sound of his voice.

"What are you a race traitor?" sneered another.

"I" said Mortimer "Am an honest man who fails to see where race is an issue when four thieves hold up an honest businessman. I'm also" he added "An acting deputy marshal; so if you'd care to come quietly….."

"Kill him" snapped the leader "And if his woman squawks at all, cut her eyes out."

There were four rapid shots.

Two of them were Roberta's.

"Don't worry Mr Yee, I'll write a full report" said Mortimer.

"You velly kind; missy velly good shot!" gasped Mr Yee whose English was by no means as good as his Spanish. He clicked his fingers for the inexhaustible supply of nephews and sons he commanded who quickly carried the bodies out; and refused point blank to present a bill for the meal when the Mortimers had finished eating.

"I recognised one of those bravos" said Douglas quietly to Roberta. "One of the ones you shot; the leader in fact. He's the son of a grocery store owner. One of the vocal ones against the Chinese being permitted too much licence."

"Well!" said Roberta "As if it wasn't bad enough having to worry about some of our putative neighbours back east having trouble with our black relatives, the people out here pick on the Chinese; I really can't see why people don't realise that we're all God's children and that it's as silly as me picking on people that don't have blondish hair!"

"Oh quite" said Mortimer.

oOoOo

The consequence of the incident was when the couple were confronted the next day by an angry man demanding of Mortimer if it was true that he had shot his son in cold blood.

"Actually" said Mortimer "It was not I who shot your son if he is who I think he is; he was shot – and not in cold blood since he already had weapon drawn – by my associate whom he had threatened to blind. We took down two each."

"Then I'll see your associate at his earliest convenience" snarled the shopkeeper "I can shoot down any two-bit gunslinger; I don't believe my son threatened to blind any man!"

"No: he threatened to blind a woman – me" said Roberta. "To stop me testifying to him telling his three associates to murder my husband in cold blood for protesting their robbery. But I'll meet you happily; is now soon enough? I shan't have any trouble shooting down a two-bit cracker!"

There was much laughter from bystanders.

Mortimer grinned nastily.

"Of course if you are too scared to draw weapon on a woman – your son was quite happy to do so by the way as well as to threaten to cut her eyes out – maybe you'll fight me. After all, I'm only an accredited deputy at the moment and a long term bounty killer, so really much more weak and feeble than the fearsome and dangerous Chinese laundrymen and restaurateurs you usually prefer to go after. Alternatively you can get the hell out of my sight before I go for my horsewhip to show you what I think of a man who can encourage his son to be a thief; though I reckon the good people of this town will realise that a thief in one way is a thief in others and will start to wonder what ways you're cheating them in your store; how much chalk and alum is in your flour, how much gypsum in your tea and so on."

The grocer stared, open mouthed. Whether it was in horror at the accusation or at the ready way those listening murmured assent was debatable; and too at the idea of taking on - for very different reasons – either an experienced bounty killer or a very young lady. Killing a deputy marshal would mean he would have to flee, even assuming he managed to cheat somehow to get the drop on so dangerous a man; and he would get nothing but scorn for killing a woman, the more so if she managed to nick him.

"I – this is preposterous!" said the grocer "NO woman can fire straight!"

Roberta was finding him irritating; and she had heard tell of Manco's trick with Douglas' hat and her husband's return trick shooting.

She drew her gun and shot the man's hat off his head, waited for it to come down, shot again to throw it up, and again; and once more.

Anyone who knew anything about marksmanship would recognise the skill in that. She blew imaginary smoke from the end of her gun.

"I still have two bullets if you wish to meet me" she said. "One more than I need."

He was a ghastly hue.

"I – I don't think it's necessary" he said.

"Wise move" said Roberta. "Oh, and lay off trying to terrorise the Chinese. We'll come back and reason with you if you don't."

oOoOo

"Reason with?" queried Mortimer.

"Well it sounded reasonable enough to say if it came to anyone accusing me of threatening him; what's to take exception to in being reasoned with after all?" said Roberta "But he thinks I mean shoot his manhood off because that was where I was looking as I put my gun away."

Mortimer chuckled.

"You do a very good line in threats my dear" he said "I have a most excellent wife!"

"Good; I think you should take me back to the hotel and prove that" said Roberta.

Her husband was ready to comply!


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**

Finally – or so it seemed – Joseph received a rather snide letter in reply to his report of knowing the general vicinity of the mine and the information that the government had cracked down on fighting over and searching for it, telling Joseph that he'd better be sure that this was not because someone in government had got their hands on it for himself or worse on behalf of the government itself. A shipment of guns was coming hidden in crates of cotton and Joseph had better meet it at Albuquerque or Gellibrand would know the reason why.

His tone was generally offensive and 'you stupid nigger' was not the most unpleasant thing he called Joseph.

Mortimer read it.

"I'm going to pulverise him" he said.

"Get in the queue Doug" said Joseph.

"Damn, that puts me third" said Roberta.

"Hell, Bobby, you're a good enough shot to shoot his nuts off even with the difficulty of finding them in all the folds of flesh" said Joseph "Ladies first; you do that for you and for the way he looked at Amaryllis and THEN Douglas and me'll pound him!"

Manco laughed.

"Well Joseph, reckon you and the Colonel must be brothers; only a brother would have the balls to mention nuts to his wife."

"Oh I took it as a compliment to her" said Mortimer. "Probably would have done from you for that matter. I'd have shot anyone else."

They packed up and prepared to travel to Albuquerque. Another long ride back to Benson to regain the railroad was to be in order and then they would be on the railroad all the time, taking the contraband to Nogales.

This time Falk Peters and Niyol would be accompanying them; and it may be said that Peters stared at the letter and read it over several times.

"Mr Mortimer" he said to Joseph "Am I to take it that this man is stupid enough to write about guns and so on in clear without even any kind of attempt to hide it by calling it 'the goods' or any such euphemism? It almost looks like a frame of him."

"Well that it isn't" said Joseph "See, how else is de clebber white man gwine t'c'mOONicate wit' de stupid negr' bo' y'all know is to daft t'have any thought under de wool on his po' black head as might unnerstand dis YEWfeminism" he paused, and frowned "Did I go to far in mangling euphemism?"

"Yes, but it gave me my first laugh of the day so I'll pass on complaining" said Peters "Does he really think you're that stupid?"

"Yo' bet yo' ass, boss!" said Joseph. "He believes as truly as he believes he deserves to be rich – which is to say fervently and sincerely – that all blacks are dim and that I am a prime example of Homo notverysapiens."

"I see" said Peters. "Well I've seen examples of all your handwriting; I can't see that it looks like a forgery and I don't want to disbelieve you all; but I have to be suspicious because it's my job and I know you loath him."

"I have no axe to grind save that he's done down people I respect" said Manco, shifting the toothpick he was chewing from one side of his mouth to the other. "I saw the letter arrive; and I am certain nobody in our group wrote it. Besides, I had previous information that Gellibrand was involved in smuggling. That do you Marshal?"

"Oh I'll take the word of any one of you" said Peters "If you give it. And I'll be looking for more proof throughout the er problem you'll be manufacturing. I want this straight down the line and no accusations able to be levelled of improper treatment of the evidence that some shyster lawyer could twist."

"Gelliband is a shyster lawyer" said Mortimer "And I give my word to add to my brother and my friend that this is the way he feels it necessary to talk to one of his employees, especially the black ones. The more threads to tie him up that you have however, the better I shall be pleased. I don't want him to find a way to wriggle out. I also don't like the names he calls Joseph."

"Not likely to inspire loyalty I shouldn't have thought" said Peters dryly.

"But de boss man done have rights t'abuse po' negr'" said Joseph "Seeins as how po' negr' has a mother dependant on bein' fed by de great boss…. He thinks that we have obedience born into us for having been slaves, Mr Peters, and to back that up he recognises that we have ties of family so where he can tie up his four legged animals to stop them straying, he can tie up his two legged animals by threatening relatives. And my loyalty is to Douglas but I want to protect Ma too if I can. But she'd be ashamed of me if I didn't do what was right if given a chance. You are that chance, Marshal."

"I see" said Peters "Then I will do what I can to avoid any harm coming to your mother. What a very unpleasant fellow Gellibrand is to be sure!"

oOoOo

The railroad took them back to Mescal, almost to Benson; and the shortest leg of the journey would then take the longest time. It looked as though there might be a hold up in Mescal too before they left; since there was a lot of excitement and the sheriff and a posse seemed to be watching the small bank. The sheriff had a sling on one arm and a bullet graze on his cheek.

"What's the problem?" asked Peters, flashing his marshal's star.

"Bandits raided the place; left one of their fellows wounded. He has a lady cashier and is threatening to kill her if he isn't given medical aid and allowed to leave" said the sheriff tersely.

"They kill anyone?" asked Roberta.

"Yes; three men so far shooting their way out, and presumably the two male bank clerks and the manager" said the sheriff.

"Bounty?" said Roberta.

"I'll say" said the Sheriff "Why,ma'am? And a lady didn't ought to be so close to danger."

"Listen to her" said Peters. "She's the wife of the Man in Black; she knows what she's doing.

"Tell him that you're sending in medical supplies and as a sign of good faith a woman will bring them" said Roberta.

"But – what woman will do that? And why should we accede to his demands? That only gives him another hostage – ma'am do you mean YOU?" said the sheriff "What can you do?"

"Kill him" said Roberta. "I owe that to another woman; if he hadn't been part of killing I might have felt like seeing if there was another way. You can get the bounty money ready."

"But….."

"Goats but"said Roberta. "Give me medical supplies."

"But if you're going to kill him…."

"For one thing he needs to see I have them; for another the cashiers might still be alive and the longer you argue with me, the less likely that is going to be" said Roberta crisply.

There was a shout from the bank door.

"HEY! Sheriff! How long are you going to be?"

"Listen you scum" called the sheriff "I've had to find a volunteer to bring medical aid; it's now coming and a lady is going to bring it and treat you as a sign of good faith."

"Okay! I'll accept that!" called the bandit "Be nice if she's easier on the eye than this scrawny old bird!"

"BASTARD!" muttered the sheriff "That's my sister he has in there….. be careful, ma'am, I implore you!"

"I'll be careful. He'll be dead" said Roberta calmly. She picked up the medical supplies someone had hastily brought; and set off, grinning as she heard the sheriff asking Marshal Peters if she were really of sufficient fortitude and a good enough shot; and hearing the Marshal reply dryly that as women went, Mrs Mortimer was a better man than most he knew with a star.

She also heard the sound of hooves, and knew that her husband, Manco and Joseph together with the Marshal and his man were on the trail of the other bandits. Joseph had been taking lessons in shooting a handgun from Manco while they kicked their heels in Phoenix and apparently he had the eye; another thing that suggested that he probably WAS Douglas' half brother as born shots often run in families. If this was a recent raid they would have time to run them down and bring them in without losing much time on their journey; and one did not turn down the chance to earn.

oOoOo

The bank stank of blood. The middle aged woman was on the scrawny side but not unhandsome; nor cowed. She was staring down her nose at the bandit who was propped up on a makeshift crutch. The mark of a pistol butt stood out on her pale cheeks.

"Well you ARE easy on the eye" said the bandit "And the threat to let you out without having too much fun with you should hold; you ain't a whore dressed up as a lady, you're the real thing! Come here and bring those bandages" he pointed his gun at her.

"Yes I am the real thing" said Roberta, smiling reassuringly at the sheriff's sister; and then she shot him.

It hardly registered in his mind that she had smoothly drawn her Buntline before her shot flung him backwards, his own shot jerked upwards for being too slow to react to the threat. It grazed passed Roberta's hair and a single curl floated down.

"OW!" said Roberta as the crack of the bullet made her eardrum pop. She put a hand to her ear. "No blood; always good" she murmured. "Ma'am are you hurt anywhere but that nasty bruise? Are there wounded?"

"Yes, all the tellers are hurt badly" said the lady "Are you sure he's dead?"

"Aimed for the middle of his head; easy at this range. He may not have had a lot in there to start with but it's not about to get up and think any more" said Roberta.

The woman gave a grunt of slightly hysterical laughter.

"You're some gal" she said. "What have you got?"

"Bandages, whisky to clean wounds, sal volatile, needles and sterilised thread I think" said Roberta. "Do you know how to stitch up wounds? I've never done it."

"I can at need" said the woman "Julia Preston."

"Roberta Mortimer" said Roberta. "Let's get on with it."

oOoOo

One of the tellers was past aid; he had a belly wound. All they could do was make him comfortable – and, suggested Miss Preston, drunk – and do what they could for the bank manager and the other teller. Both had been shot in the knees – Miss Preston said that the remaining bandit had done that to protect himself – and that he had knocked her cold for long enough to establish himself in a defensive position.

"And Harry" she said to the bank manager "I shan't be accepting your proposal. When a woman sees a man beg on his knees for his own life without thinking of those young boys or the woman he swears he loves, she knows he's a failure. This young gal here has three times the manhood you have!"

"Some people are just prey I'm afraid" said Roberta.

"And some of us find we can fight; or at least not beg" said Miss Preston.

"Your brother ought to have deputised you and given you a gun" said Roberta.

Miss Preston gave another bark of laughter.

"I don't think he realises women can shoot straight" she said. "Ah here he comes now it's all safe; ready see if I'm shocked. I should have stuck to teaching school not joined him out here where the school isn't going yet."

"Ma'am, if you'd like to come with us, learn to shoot and catch a smuggler, there'll be a school waiting to start for a lady with spirit" said Roberta.

"Well!" said Miss Preston "That I must think on seriously!"

_A/N yes there's a Star Wars reference. I couldn't resist it._


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**

The five men cantered back into town in the middle of the afternoon with a cart they has acquired somewhere with a dozen or so bodies and a safe on it; and it may be said that the Bank Manager greeted the return of the safe with more lover-like fervour than he had shown over the safety of the woman he had asked to be his wife.

"I hope they'll be very happy together" murmured Roberta to Julia Preston.

"You are a bad girl" said Miss Preston without a touch of censure in her tone. Roberta had introduced her to Amaryllis and explained Douglas' plan to educate the children of all who worked for him especially since it seemed likely that half of them were related to him.

To say that Miss Preston was taken aback was a slight understatement; she had never even spoken to anyone of negro descent in all her life. However, the idea that a man should stand by his kin regardless of public opinion and a stern and uncompromising belief that the war had been fought to bring about emancipation of slavery, she and her brother hailing from a New England family, she concealed her surprise and set about making mental plans to make sure that there would be no segregation in HER school because such was contrary to God's laws.

Roberta suggested that she meet them at Rincon in a couple of days rather than have to pack and make her farewells in a hurry; and this was agreed.

The Sheriff was in for a surprise.

In the meantime he was glad that the Marshal and the bounty hunters and their women had been at the right place at the right time; and equally glad that they were leaving more or less right away. He had the Bank Manager pay out the bounties to be reimbursed by the state later. Here, a slight altercation arose over the bounty on the one Roberta had killed because she was a woman not a bounty hunter.

"Did I or did I not check that there was a bounty on him?" said Roberta, icily.

"Yes, and thank you my dear lady, but really, the idea of a woman collecting bounty is risible!" said the sheriff.

"You mean you don't want to put it on the receipt because it will make you a laughing stock" said Roberta. "Well, Sheriff, I can make you a laughing stock by spreading the story all up and down the railroad if you don't pay up; and what's more, I and my gun can do damage in your town to far more than the value of the bounty just by breaking every window in the jailhouse, the bank and the railway station."

"She accepted the job on the bounty; pay her" said Peters, losing patience. "If you don't, I shall, and you and your town will be mentioned in my report as to why it came out of my expenses."

The sheriff paid up.

oOoOo

The ride was essentially uneventful. This time they were following the grade of the new railroad being built; it had gone further so the journey would be easier, and too, following the bottoms risked being swept away in flash floods. The higher ground might be harder to traverse once the grade's end was reached but it was much safer.

Huddled bones of some animal, picked clean and shiny white was a reminder of the harshness of the desert; at least it was cooler now in what was essentially winter. Even so it was still hot during the day; and late in the day as it was when they set off the parched land underfoot reflected back both heat and glare. The horses could not go fast for long and they must amble at an energy saving pace, bearing in mind too that the ground was both rocky and uneven underfoot and a stone in a shoe would cost a long delay; and a broken leg from a carelessly placed foot would cost them a horse and a longer delay. At least there was water to be found her at the moment to water the horses frequently; The seasonal streams also attracted game; and a startled deer did not have a chance to get far as Joseph's rifle cracked. Food was assured for the whole journey and there would be enough left over to bargain with in Benson, and the hide too. Joseph and Mortimer salted and rolled the hide to keep it supple ready to be cured properly.

"Don't look but we're being followed" said Manco.

"Yup. Been there since we passed those men grading the railroad" said Mortimer. "I suspect thieves of some kind; where there's grading there's plenty of horses; where there are horses there are horsethieves."

"What do we do, Uncle Douglas?" asked Amaryllis.

"We ignore them" said Mortimer "They didn't disturb our supper that Joseph took down so we shan't bother. Until they bother us. We sleep in relays tonight; too bad that the late start means we can't push on in one day but that's life."

"Profitable delay" said Manco. "We'll take them in alive I suppose?"

"They're hardly going to trouble our ingenuity to take alive" said Niyol "Right boss?"

"Right" said Peters. "These types typically follow travellers, expecting to remain unseen, waiting until the travellers have bedded down for the night; then make off with their mounts. I despise them because in certain seasons and some of the less salubrious places that's tantamount to a death sentence for the poor devils they rob who are then unable to make it to water or shelter without a mount."

The venison was delicious; and Roberta saved some gravy to have with cracklin' bread for breakfast. Then they made as though to go to bed.

Manco and Niyol were on first watch, rising silently as soon as all was dark to slide like shadows to wait near the horses. The others were just keeping ready.

The thieves did not hang about.

The two men slid quietly up to the horses, and if they were not as silent as Manco and Niyol it was doubtful that they would wake any genuine sleepers of tired travellers.

The nasty click of a gun being cocked and the comment,

"Forgot your calling card did you?" from Manco allied with a cold steel circle just above the ear froze one; Niyol had just laid his wicked looking knife blade against the other's neck.

It was short work to tie them and collect their horses that they would be tied to in the morning.

It may also be said that Roberta fed them plain Johnny cake for breakfast while they had to endure the rich brown smell of the venison gravy and hot cracklin' bread heated on a plate set on top of the gravy Dixie.

oOoOo

Part of the evidence against the two horse thieves was the horse one of them had chosen to ride for himself.

It had once belonged to a prominent citizen in Benson who recognised it right away and there was almost a lynch mob formed. Falk Peters took over the proceedings.

The bounty hunters were recognised by one of the citizens.

"Hey, bounty killer, did that boy you were with get killed?" asked one of the loafers outside the saloon.

"Nope" said Mortimer "He stayed out West; took me to his sister that I was engaged to, saw us hitched, and branched out on his own. Snakekiller Bobby is competent enough to work alone."

That was a compliment to Roberta as well as being an explanation; Mortimer would not have said it if he did not think it was true; and Roberta flushed in pleasure.

This, and her look of adoration at her husband, changed her into a very different character to Snakekiller Bobby; which had been partly the idea of passing the compliment. This pretty, blushing bride would never be associated with the dangerously competent youth Bobby.

It might be said however that news spread fast; and the brassy blonde Susannah pushed her way through the crowd come to see the trial of the horse thieves to gaze upon the Colonel's wife.

She gave a shriek half of woe, half of anger.

"Colonel, you're nothin' but a BABYSNATCHER!" she cried, pointing at Roberta.

"Susannah" said Mortimer "You're making a fool of yourself."

"You married that – that CHILD? It's disgusting!" wailed Susannah, most of whose grief was jealousy of Roberta's looks.

Roberta never claimed to be a beauty; but glowing with health, her hair with lights in it from the sun and with the indefinable loveliness that seems to settle on a woman in love she passed as one, at least out here, and would be an uncommonly pretty girl anywhere. But it was her youth and dewy freshness that really showed Susannah up for what she had become.

"I am not a child" said Roberta crossly. "I'm nineteen. And I've seen enough of life out west to feel more mature – if not as raddled – than anyone who uses the bottom of a whisky bottle to look through more readily than a telescope and who travels from bar to bar."

"Miaow" said Manco.

"Tell y'what, honey" said Joseph to Susannah "As my brother is married, how's about you entertain me instead?"

Susannah fell back with an expression of distaste.

Mortimer dropped an arm about Joseph's shoulders.

"Allow me to introduce my half brother, and our niece" he said, indicating Amaryllis.

"Colonel! You LIED to me!" she shrieked "I thought you was white!"

"Well that I am" said Mortimer "But my father's mistress wasn't. Aren't you going to shake hands with my brother and niece?"

Apparently this was too much for Susannah who fled shrieking.

"Gee, Doug, I didn't think I was that ugly" said Joseph "Specially next to you and Manco."

"Well now" said Mortimer getting out his pipe and cleaning out imaginary dottle "Seems like she don't think I'm such a great catch after all."

"Good" said Roberta "Because whilst a man may not strike a woman if she tries to cause trouble I so will be putting my slipper across her well padded backside."

"You know you've no need for jealousy" said Mortimer.

"Hell no! I'm not jealous; I'm angry at her casting aspersions on my abilities to make you a good wife and accusing me of being too young to be efficient!" said Roberta crossly.

Mortimer laughed.

"My dear, it was me she was accusing of using some skulduggery to obtain so young and lovely a wife" he explained.

"Well I wish I HAD spanked her well then!" said Roberta.


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31**

The crates of cotton had to be signed for at Albuquerque but otherwise not the slightest bit of notice was taken of them. It was not hard to remove one quietly to an office when Peters flashed his star; and he searched it.

The guns were hidden in the cotton, not too many per crate so the weight would not be too significant. There was a name on the manifest signing them into the care of the railway company; and Peters sent some telegraphs. The men at the other end were to be watched, but not arrested until his word, he told his posse.

"So now we go through the palaver of taking the wretched things south and pretending to sell them" said Joseph.

"We need a hacienda not far the other side of the border we can take over" said Mortimer.

"There's an abandoned one where I do a lot of the deals" said Joseph. "I think it's supposed to be haunted; the tales are told expressly to keep people out."

"That'll do nicely" said Mortimer.

"Do we empty out the guns here and have them put under lock and key?" asked Roberta

"No" said Peters "We need the boss to agree that they are the guns he's asking for money for."

"Somehow I feel doubtful that we're going to persuade Gellibrand to come himself" growled Mortimer "This isn't going to work."

"Ever staked out a bar to pick up a lead that will take you to a bandit's girlfriend who might then lead you to him?" said Peters.

Mortimer nodded.

"I take your point, Marshal, I'm just a bit impatient; I'd rather like my first child to be born in my family house."

"I don't see you'll have any fear of missing out on that, Colonel" said Peters.

"Can we wait until I'm certain it's a happy event that we're expecting please before we discuss it?" said Roberta tartly "I'm not superstitious but there's such a thing as tempting fate."

"Sorry ma'am" said Peters. Mortimer took her hand and kissed her fingers.

"You were rather frugal in your eating this morning" he murmured.

"I felt a little queasy…..OH!" said Roberta.

"I take it" said Manco, firmly picking up the conversation to give Roberta a chance to adjust to what was now making her blush furiously "That he'll be likely to send someone high enough in the organisation who might be persuaded to rat up the big man for a deal?"

"Something along those lines, yes" said Peters "Plus the results of those telegrams I sent; I have buddies who know what to do and how to spread the net. One of them will be following up the military aspect too; and whoever is selling these guns on is going to squeal to avoid execution for treason."

"Seems likely" Manco nodded. "The joe that our prisoner from that Hopi settlement talked of – Fellowes – seems likely to be the one that gets sent."

"He's a mean bastard is Fellowes" said Joseph "I've met him a few times. He used to be a slave owner; but he ain't accepted by all the society types account of being part Hispanic; his grandmother was some Hidalga but being a Mexican counts for more than being their kind of aristocracy."

"Humans are crazy" said Roberta, re-entering the conversation after having surreptitiously embraced her husband.

"No honey; we ain't all crazy" said Amaryllis in her soft rich deep voice "It de rest o' the world dat's crazy."

Amaryllis rarely made a comment so when she did it carried more weight.

"You sure have got a point, ma'am" said Peters. "And as well as a lot of people being crazy – which by the way is what's going to sell the story, that this pretend Hispanic of ours won't give money to a black man – they are also greedy and careless. Greed will bring as Manco says probably Fellowes; but you see there's such a thing as what we call a paper trail. Letters in his room perhaps; or on him. Once he's arrested we can look at bank records. We can requisition copies of any telegraph he has sent from anywhere he has been; and if he's over confident for it always having worked, he may have stubs of his railway tickets so we can trace exactly where he's been, check out any message he's sent; pay the hotel servants to tell us if they know if he met anyone. You know the score; you've done it many times. But I get to requisition the copies of messages, I don't have to bribe someone to let me see them, or find a way to er, acquire them."

"Generally I take the next form down and blow powdered graphite across it because most people are careless enough to fill in the telegraph form on top of the others" said Mortimer "Ain't never thought to find out about telegraphs sent in places I haven't watched them be sent from. It's a good tip."

"So's the graphite" said Peters "And one I'll remember."

"And Niyol will make sure to keep powdered grapite ready" said Niyol dryly.

"Because you're the best scout and number two a man could have" said Peters. "I'd fall apart without your efficiency"

Niyol grinned. He did not agree out loud but his agreement was loud in his silence.

oOoOo

By common consent, the Mortimers were found an empty carriage of their own while Manco drifted to one end of it and Joseph to the other to menace anyone who tried to enter it. Peters and Niyol took Amaryllis with them pretending to know nothing about the tactic.

"We have some good friends" said Mortimer.

Roberta giggled.

"I think it's neat the way Manco calls me Mrs Mortimer in public and to tease me" she said "He and Joseph are good friends. I could half wish Manco might marry Amaryllis to make him family."

Mortimer shook his head.

"Isn't going to happen" he said "Only sort of woman Manco's going to marry is when he finds one like you who can adapt to his world. Amaryllis takes hardships without complaining – she's a good girl – but she's never once made a push to learn to shoot. She prefers to sew."

"Yes, it seems strange to me" said Roberta "But she said to me, if she's really going to be a lady as your niece she can sew all day and have a maid to do the washing and ironing."

Mortimer laughed.

"Well she shall have a sewing machine too! When we go home….. my dear, I do apologise for being abrupt in sharing the news; I was not a gentleman to lack such tact. But I DO want our first child to be born at home if at all possible."

"I'll be happy to have your baby if he or she is born under a haystack" said Roberta. "I was being slow I suppose, working it out; but aren't you supposed to actually be sick every morning?"

"Not necessarily" said Mortimer. "I think some women experience no symptoms at all. I suspect that leading an active life and not wearing a corset might help too."

"Oh like the Hebrew women who were quick" said Roberta. "That's what that is about, isn't it, that because they were enslaved they worked hard and were active and the Egyptian women were indolent and so sluggish."

"Exactly" said Mortimer.

"Douglas" said Roberta "Why do people say unpleasant things about Hebrews, Jews? I mean the ones of today. I mean, Jesus was a Jew wasn't he?"

"Yes my dear" said Mortimer. "Like Amaryllis says, everyone else is crazy. Now come here; as we have some privacy I want to kiss you."

There is a limit to how much further than a kiss a loving couple might manage in a swaying railway carriage, even when they are certain that their privacy is fairly guaranteed; but that limit was certainly approached and the timely warning shouted by Manco through the door,

"Better be decent for the station old man!" was not an entirely superfluous warning.

oOoOo

Julia Preston was joining them here at Rincon; and Roberta thought she looked years younger for being out from under the censorious eye of her stuffy brother and embarking on an adventure!

Roberta embraced her warmly.

"I'm glad you didn't get talked out of joining us!" she said.

"Well I might have done but for one thing" said Miss Preston, a martial light in her eyes "My fool brother, after worriting like a hen about a woman travelling alone – as if I didn't travel alone when he sent to ask me to join him – decided he would exert his influence as my brother and FORBID me to join you. Well, I asked if he planned to arrest me and lock me in his jailhouse because he had some crime he thought I'd committed; and when he had admitted that this was absurd I pointed out that it was the only way he had of preventing a woman who has attained her majority long since from doing as she pleased in a free country. Well he prated about Arizona law and how a woman needs protection and that being why the Mormons began the habit of polygamy – which I believe is to be outlawed – so I said I was returning to civilised parts in the east with you where competency to be a human being was not measured on being able to relieve oneself standing up. It was coarse and crude, I admit; but he riled me that much!"

"Yes, I can see why" said Roberta "Some men keep all their brains in that relatively limited compartment that makes up their manhood. I can't say I was that impressed by your brother though to do him justice he was more concerned for YOUR safety than for that of a strange woman he did not know."

"Oh he is a good man" said Miss Preston "And I do love him – better when we haven't spoken for a while though I admit. It was why I consented to join him; he spoke of a growing town and implied that by the time I got there I should have a school to take on. Well nobody has yet built a schoolhouse, and he objected to me taking pupils in his house, and then he tried to object when I took the job in the bank, for I cannot be idle and I wanted besides to be independent. It was, I confess, irritation with my brother that led to me even considering Harry's – the bank manager's – proposal. I suspect though" she added cynically "It was in order to obtain a live-in skivvy for free. What do we do first?"

"A lot of sitting idle kicking our heels while messages pass and we wait for a criminal to walk into the trap we are baiting" said Roberta. "However, we might contrive to work on costumes to fulfil the story we tell; and perhaps turn you into an hidlaga, for your are darker in complexion than I – as well as having the concern that the chief evildoer knows me – to treat our smuggler with distain."

"Why, I do believe I shall enjoy that!" said Miss Preston. "While we are travelling you must fill me in on more details!"

Roberta proceeded to do so, not concealing her flight in boy's clothing, and Mortimer's care of her for her reputation until such time as he realised that she had come to love him as well as he loved her. Miss Preston, a forceful lady, had seen too much of the way women could be treated to censure the disguise; and had, however deeply buried, a spinster lady's love of romance such that she had to dab a surreptitious tear! She declared herself firmly behind the Colonel's quest and informed Roberta that such a man who had the courage to admit to his irregular relatives was a man of more moral fibre than the likes of Thomas Jefferson who had sold his own daughter. With which encomium she adopted the group firmly and took Amaryllis under her wing as a young girl in need of a mother figure.

Orphaned at an early age and alternately roughly loved and scolded by her aunt and by Joseph's mother, her grandmother, Amaryllis rather enjoyed the experience of collecting another kindly aunt figure!


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32**

The journey to Nogales was enlivened only by the group of travelling soldiers who were being posted west; they were inclined to try to flirt with Roberta and make free with Amaryllis until Roberta smiled at the man who was trying to chuck her under the chin and kneed him hard, and kicked in the shins the one who had his arm around the waist of a protesting Amaryllis. Mortimer and Manco and Joseph had been moving into action but Mortimer relaxed once he saw his wife was more than capable of dealing with the situation. So did Peters who was wondering how to prevent the soldiers being turned into meat.

"Listen you joes and listen good because I shall only say this once" said Roberta putting an arm around the scared Amaryllis "If you are stupid enough to try to rape the wife and the niece of a deputy marshal you are not going to get to face court martial because the marshal and his deputies here are going to smear your sorry carcases all across the carriage."

"You mean you've engaged in miscegenation?" the officer of the soldiers looked horrified "That's a crime you know!"

"What in tarnation are you talking about?" said Roberta.

"He thinks that you're wed to my half brother" said Mortimer. "You boys shut the hell up and don't give us any more crap; I'm not in the mood to take a bunch of Johnny-raws thinking they can fool with my wife, nor with my niece who is under my protection. YOU HEARD ME SOLDIERS SIT DOWN!" he barked.

They sat.

"All that Colonelling was good for something then" murmured Manco

"Oh the parade ground voice comes in occasionally" said Mortimer.

oOoOo

A cart was procured to carry the bales of cotton across the border; this was all apparently quite normal and in order. A couple of ounces of tobacco saw that no trouble was made by the rather nominal official presence.

Travelling across the border was no big deal; and Joseph was known to travel on behalf of a big cotton grower. He and the cotton and Amaryllis crossed alone; the group had decided, or rather Mortimer in consultation with Peters had decided, that in case of spies, Joseph and Amaryllis should have no truck with the rest of them until they were in Mexico.

There were no real interruptions as they headed south – at least one could hardly count as an interruption an ambush by Mexican bandits who changed their minds and fled at the competent way their would-be victims suddenly became armed and dangerous – and they reached the hacienda.

"And now we kick our heels again" said Mortimer.

"Never mind; you can spend the time profitably teaching me how to shoot" said Julia Preston cheerily.

"You are one helluva lady!" said Joseph in admiration.

Miss Preston flushed.

"Why thank you" she said demurely "I suppose I have to learn to accept rough language too."

Joseph's face was too dark to show a flush but he certainly looked embarrassed.

"Beg pardon ma'am" he said.

"Granted" said Miss Preston.

Manco raised a cynical eyebrow, spat out the stub of his cigar and muttered to Roberta,

"I think you talked us into being schooled by the schoolmarm, Bobby."

"If you ask me, she's so unused to receiving compliments, Manco, she doesn't quite know how to do it without taking it a bit two ways and with a tart comment" said Roberta. "She'll lighten up when she realises she is considered admirable by us for her courage."

"Mebbe" said Manco.

oOoOo

The hacienda was abandoned but not too ruinous; and the women drove the men outside as they were, said Miss Preston, underfoot while the ladies might bring it to reasonable living conditions 'If we are to stay here for the time it takes to spring the trap' as Roberta said; having calculated that they should give it three or four days at least for Joseph to meet with a buyer, a day or so of arguing, and then the couple of weeks it would take to send to Gellibrand and for him to either come himself or send a surrogate. Even if Joseph sent a wire, it would take time for someone to travel there.

They disturbed a pair of rattlesnakes whose heads Roberta blew off without thinking – the gunshots brought the men back at the run – and Manco gave his odd truncated grunt of laughter.

"Snakekiller Bobby living up to the name" he said "You want to cure the skins and when you collect more have a vest made of them for when you're being Snakekiller Bobby."

Roberta regarded the snakes thoughtfully.

"Nope" she said "Sartorially gauche. I shall cure these ones to wear as a hat band; more subtle."

They resumed their cleaning untroubled by anything more dangerous than some rodents.

The men were fulsome in their praise of the change that had been wrought and duly appreciative of being fed as well.

"Are they normally this polite Mrs Mortimer, or are they afraid of your marksmanship?" asked Miss Preston.

"Oh call me Roberta….. they are pretty polite actually" said Roberta.

"And you must call me Julia; dear me, I must say that I had anticipated bounty killers being rough men; not men with more manners than town dwellers."

"Well ma'am" said Manco "Seems to me when everyone carries a gun and knows how to use it, manners as a matter of course can stop all sorts of little misunderstandings from becoming fatal misunderstandings."

"I never looked at it like that" said Julia. "Well, as we're settled here for a while with an excellent well, if you boys will haul fuel for a good fire tomorrow we women will have wash day."

"Ain't it against a bounty killer's religion to be totally clean?" laughed Joseph.

"Speak for yourself" said Mortimer "I for one would be grateful. The laundry in Phoenix was well enough but I'm ready to have my washing done; thank you ladies."

oOoOo

As it happened a group of Mexicans rode up while they were waiting, dismounting in the hacienda courtyard. Having seen them come from some distance the gunslingers of the party were ready and quietly waiting; Julia and Amaryllis were safe hiding upstairs.

"Hey Jose!" the leader called.

"It's what they call me" said Joseph to Mortimer.

Mortimer nodded and walked out.

"My name ain't Jose" he said. "I don't think I'm the person you're looking for; 'f I was you I'd turn right around and leave. There's nothing here for you."

There is something of the psyche of the bandit wherein backing off tamely is somehow anathema; and the leader went for his gun.

He was falling off his horse before it was clear off the holster.

Naturally the others also went for their guns; and were cut down.

"I hope that nobody damaged the fancy hat one of them was wearing" said Manco "I rather fancy it if I'm to play Hidalgo bandit."

This incident necessitated digging scrapes to bury the bodies and piling stones on them; but Roberta pointed out that apart from Joseph none of the group were going anywhere and might as well be usefully employed giving the bodies a decent burial.

"Sometimes my darling, being right can be a most unattractive trait" said Mortimer, his eyes laughing to belie the words. "And we do want to keep scavengers off them; we'll want to avoid cairns though; might draw too much attention to ourselves. shovel the desert on top of those stones people; it'll be better than nothing."

Niyol, who could be almost invisible when he put his mind to it, was to accompany Joseph and Amaryllis back to Nogales to send a telegraph, shadowing them there and back. And as they had now been found by bandits it was reasonable for them to leave.

Having the horses would also add verisimilitude; figures in ponchos looking out would do for bandits from a distance even if Gellibrand himself came and might recognise any of those figures close to.

Manco was quickly tricked out in a suit that would pass as an hidalgo and Julia as his arrogant wife; she was at least finding her way around a weapon.

Niyol returned alone the day after they had left.

"Joseph sent a telegram 'buyer won't pay black man advice'; and the reply returned. Gellibrand seem not to care about paying for extra names he call Joseph. He say sit tight, and man will come."

"Mmmhmm" said Mortimer. "That means he is sending a surrogate."

"Well we shall soon find out" said Peters. "Reckon you can get a good look at the man when he arrives and get well ahead of them Niyol?"

"Boss, I ain't become stupid yet" said Niyol.

"I guess not" said Peters. "Sorry."

Niyol gave him his half grin and accepted a drink of water for himself and his horse before riding back.

"You got yourself a good deputy there" said Mortimer.

"One of the best" agreed Peters. "I'll be sorry to lose you people to cotton growing too."

"I ain't takin' up farming yet awhile" said Manco "Reckon I might see my way to working in contact with you. I don't gen'ly work under no man. But you're not bad as lawmen go."

"He says he likes you as well as he likes anyone" laughed Roberta.

"Niyol's a good man" said Manco "Gotta trust his judgement."


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33**

Niyol rode in looking as cool and unhurried as usual though his horse was certainly sweating from the pace at which he had ridden. Roberta took the bridle from him to walk the animal to cool it and give it water to drink from the trough that had warmed in the sun so cold water would not give the poor beast cramps. Niyol beckoned the others to join her so that all might hear what he had to say and nothing would need repeating. He took up wisps of straw to help Roberta rub the horse down as he spoke.

"Man called Fellows come; he bring six men, six hard men. They mean to threaten buyer. I come on to tell you; they leave, hour, maybe two behind me."

"Well done Niyol" said Peters.

"Excellently done" nodded Mortimer. "Seven eh? Well Joseph might not be in a position to fight; and Amaryllis is his main charge. That's five of us."

"Six" said Julia "I can handle a rifle well enough; I can be at a window as an extra."

Mortimer nodded.

"Very well, ma'am. Your job shall be specific; watch that none of them tries to use Joseph or Amaryllis as a shield or hostage. Kill anyone who tries."

"Yes Colonel" said Julia.

They settled to wait in heat that beat down and beat back up again as it reflected off the desert's stony surface; the sky was the colour of unpolished pewter save around the sun itself where in a halo of too great a radius it was polished to a silver too bright to even look near. Even the lizards found the surface of the ground too hot to stay on as the sun rose inexorably and the lizards scuttled for the shade; And the heavy stillness of midday crept over the scene.

The sound of approaching horses could be heard from a great distance; and broke the mesmeric spell of the heat-induced lassitude that threatened the watchers.

oOoOo

The horses clattered into the hacienda yard; Manco was there to greet them, Mortimer and Peters to each side of him. The boxes of rifles were there.

"I hear that you don't want to pay, you stinking po-bean" said the leader, a big, man who was all muscle, and every ounce of it sweating and peeling redly.

"I don't pay the messenger boy, gringo" said Manco. "I only pay to someone I think I can do business with. You think you can intimidate me with your men? I have men at the windows. You are outgunned. But you shall have your money if you can prove to me we can do business."

"You're not the usual one – my agent said so" said Fellowes, dismounting.

His men cautiously followed suit. Mortimer frowned slightly; they were all dismounting together, any old how. MOST unprofessional. If they were his men they would be on punishment for such carelessness and risking each other.

Manco grinned. It was not a pretty grin.

"The usual one…..no. He and his men met with a little case of sudden lead poisoning" he said. "They're in the vicinity; but I wanted the shipment. And I wanted to know what else you could get for me."

"Why, you running a revolution?" asked Fellowes.

"That's not your business. The cargo and the price is."

"Getting a large quantity of guns might be a problem; I may have to ask more" said Fellowes. "More bribes."

Manco nodded.

"That is understood. But you can get more guns and bring them across the border for me?"

"Easy as falling off a log" said Fellows. "I have to consult with my boss, but Mr Gellibrand won't have any trouble; he has a contact in the army."

"Excellent" said Manco. "You're under arrest."

It was in exactly the same tone as before.

It took a while for his words to sink in.

By which time Roberta and Niyol had moved smoothly outside and Joseph had been handed a pistol. Amaryllis had slid inside.

"Kill them!" screeched Fellowes.

He pointed his own gun at Manco who shot it out of his hand.

"United States Marshal! Surrender!" called Peters.

He was more or less obliged to give them the chance.

Niyol, Roberta and Joseph kicked the feet out from under the three who hesitated and half raised their hands; Mortimer accounted for the other three.

"Not very tidy, Colonel" said Peters.

"Looks tidy enough to me" said Mortimer.

"They won't know anything you know, Marshal" said Manco.

"I know; but I have the obligation to give them the chance to surrender" said Peters. "Nathan Fellowes, I can hand you over to my temporary deputies or you can tell me everything you know about your principle Gamaliel Gellibrand whom you have already named in my presence."

Fellows had a few choice words to say.

Manco slapped him hard.

"You didn't ought to use language like that in front of ladies" he said.

Fellowes was a big man; his hand hurt where the gun had been wrenched from it but he knew he had just one chance. He flicked his fingers at Manco's face and while Manco was briefly distracted, kicked at his ankles and immediately swivelled to run for a horse.

He went down with a scream.

Mortimer had put a shot through his ankle.

"Pretty shot old man" said Manco "There was I wondering if you'd not had enough practise lately with THAT weapon."

"Oh I manage to practise all I need" said Mortimer. "Fellowes, you are facing a charge of treason on grounds of selling weapons belonging to the United States Army which might be used to levy war against the United States. Co-operate and I fancy the Marshal might let you plead to smuggling only."

Fellowes, already half swooning with pain, went a ghastly hue at that and passed out.

"Nice touch Colonel" said Peters. "We'd better get him into the shade and ask Miss Preston if she'd physic his ankle or we'll lose our chief witness."

oOoOo

Julia made an efficient job of making Fellowes' ankle comfortable enough to make him ride north; and when he came to he was ready to be as loquacious as Marshal Peters wanted him to be.

Gamaliel Gellibrand had, it appeared, done some work as a military lawyer and had got a systematic military thief unconditionally discharged from a number of charges at a court martial; of which the little thief was undoubtedly guilty. Once the war was over, they had been in partnership over a number of small frauds and thefts, Gellibrand helping with the paperwork; and then the idea of selling surplus weapons to Mexicans had been mooted and the whole scheme hatched. Fellows had also been in the army and had caught the dishonest supply officer at it; and had demanded his cut. He had been in the partnership ever since, he and the other man, Gruder, deferring to Gellibrand who was undoubtedly the brains in the operation.

He yammered a lot about his rights when made to mount up to ride north.

"You have the right for me to match up the other ankle if you don't quit whining and ride" said Manco who was irritated about being caught out by a child's trick.

Fellowes looked into those flint grey eyes that were as hard and pitiless as the sky.

He mounted up.

oOoOo

Back in Nogales Peters had a lot of telegraphs to send as soon as his prisoners were under lock and key and Fellowes' statement read out to him to be signed in the presence of a notary. Fellowes remained co-operative; he was a greedy opportunist and he respected Gellibrand's brains but he was not about to take the fall for him.

He agreed with the statement and signed it.

"And now we go after Gellibrand" said Mortimer, his face hard.

"I don't think so Colonel" said Peters. "Now you will go and take over your house which will be awarded back to you square and legal once the criminal has been arrested. Another Marshal is on his way to arrest Gellibrand. I've become fond of you; and I don't want to hear that you've overstepped the mark so that I have to come after YOU."

Mortimer scowled.

He wanted that revenge. He wanted to shoot Gellibrand; and he wanted it for the creature's advances on his lovely Roberta as much as for himself. And his fists slowly unclenched as he thought of Roberta's face if he made himself a criminal by doing it; thought of their unborn child growing up without a father.

He nodded curtly.

"I get to give evidence against him in court though?" he said

"Indeed yes" said Peters. "You get to face him in court."

"Good" said Mortimer. "Well in that case, my wife and I will be on our way to get the sort of clothes a lady and gentleman should be wearing for their homecoming."

"And I will write to my parents" said Roberta "It shouldn't arrive until Gellibrand is arrested and shown to be a criminal; that way my father can do all his ranting and blustering on his own time and get it out of his system."

"He won't" said Mortimer "Get it out of his system I mean; but he should at least get far enough to take stock that DOING anything about it is pretty foolish. Remind him that I'm the best shot in the Carolinas just to save him getting silly ideas."

"I will, my dear" said Roberta. "Dear me! It feels quite flat, stale and unprofitable!"

"Yes" said Mortimer "But fortunately it has been profitable in reality even if it doesn't feel that way having to pass it into the hands of another. However we are now free of Gellibrand and may enjoy the thought of parenthood."

"Oh yes, Douglas!" said Roberta, gazing adoringly at him.


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter 34**

Memphis was not technically a city but it was certainly looking as though it would not be many years before it regained city status after the tremendous dislocation caused by the Yellow Fever of more than a decade before. The main streets were broad and lined with shops and buildings of many storeys, and the river brought people to and fro by the big paddleboats that plied their trade up and down the imperturbable Mississippi, whose flow stopped for nothing, be it war, fever or the ever growing rail network.

The brand new Grand Opera House looked, Roberta said in awe, like some great civic building, a court house or the like; on the corner of Main and Beale the arched entrance stretched up two storeys, each one of which was high enough to house two floors, and the rusticated and reticulated stonework that defined the arch looked very grand indeed as did the high embrasures like the classical architecture Roberta recalled having seen in a picture of the Coliseum in Rome.

The posters on display offered equestrian shows, boxing matches and comedies as well as opera; there was no end to the entertainment to be found there!

There was even to be a Wild West show with fancy shooting and trick riding by what were billed as 'real Western cowboys'.

"Huh" said Roberta, losing interest "They don't know a thing."

Mortimer chuckled.

"No my love" he said "And the good folks of Memphis who come to be thrilled by the dangerous wild westerners would be horrified at the real thrills you have faced with equanimity."

"No point getting excited over things you can't change and less point getting excited when it's better to get even" said Roberta.

"You've been taking lessons from Manco" said Mortimer.

"And from you" said Roberta. "And I want a proper hot bath and clean clothes; I have all the smuts from the railroad on me. I expect Amaryllis and Julia feel the same, even if you and Joseph don't."

"Well I certainly do" said Mortimer. "I thought we'd fix a hotel room and have a tailor come to call on us, a man's tailor and a woman's tailor, to see about our outfitting. Our people deserve us to come home looking fit to trot not faded and crumpled as we are. And don't hesitate to demand divided skirts my dear."

"I shan't" said Roberta. "I'm half scared to go back to Oak Grove; it feels like a lifetime, and as though my former life is almost a dream."

"Me too" said Mortimer "But we have our duty. And your father is NOT going to demand you back; he'll maybe call us some hard names but you're not what he considers saleable."

"You mean he can't get a good deal on my maidenhead from some ageing lecher" said Roberta.

Mortimer grinned ruefully.

"Some would describe me thus" he said "But actually, watch your father fawn when I am the one who is the owner of Oakridge House."

"I can almost hear the drool hitting your boots" said Roberta cynically. "Had you thought what exactly you're going to do on our arrival?"

"Yup. First off I'm going to give a big feast for everyone who works for me so I can start to get to know faces. Then I'm going to announce that there will be some changes because I'm going to incorporate the cotton growing and the cotton gin as a company; and forty nine per cent of the shares will be divided between my workers. I'll have it all tied up legal that if they want to leave they have to sell the shares back. And when the company does well, they get a better dividend. Best incentive to hard work is reward."

"That's going to need a lawyer" said Roberta, wrinkling up her nose.

"Yes; but whatever the saying is about the only good lawyer being a dead lawyer, there ARE honest lawyers out there" said Mortimer.

"If you say so, Douglas" said Roberta dubiously. "I expect there are peace-loving Apaches too and a few sane Hatters."

"Oh if you look far enough" said Mortimer.

Manco had bade them farewell; he was a man of the desert and its towns and the idea of the east was not what he found attractive. He had nodded to Mortimer and told him to send to Tucumcari if he needed him as it was a town he generally passed through once a year at least; and people there would see he got a message.

Roberta had sniffed and said that a personal advertisement in the newspapers would find him quicker as any Bounty Killer kept abreast of the news. Manco had grinned and agreed that perhaps sometimes Mrs Mortimer had the better ideas.

oOoOo

The hotel was a grand looking building too; and the receptionist pointed at Joseph and Amaryllis.

"We don't have their kind here" he said. "Whites only!"

"No?" said Mortimer, taking out a wad of notes and fanning them. "Well looks like you won't be taking anything green either. Have a really bad day, son" and dropped an arm over Joseph's shoulder to walk out.

"I have heard that there are moves to make segregation law not just custom" said Julia.

"Foolishness" said Mortimer.

"And dangerous foolishness to rock the boat too much Doug" said Joseph. "We'll find a hotel that has a floor where blacks are allowed and Amaryllis and I will stay there. Let's not make trouble; we've seen enough without making more."

Mortimer sighed.

"My brother the wise one" he said.

oOoOo

Once settled into a hotel with a more liberal policy Mortimer and Joseph stepped out to find a tailor; and Roberta, Amaryllis and Julia went to find a haberdasher's and to place a small advertisement for a dressmaker willing to visit for fittings. There was much discussion on the rival merits of velvets and silks and cottons and on ribbons or fringes as trim. Fashion magazines were also pored over; Les Modes Parisiennes in Peterson's magazine, and Godey's Lady's Book among others. It appeared that sleeves had fullness at the sleevehead and waists were low, with a point at the front. Classical style drapery was still in fashion in a very controlled sort of way – Roberta thought it looked silly on a corseted silhouette and said so – and skirts had a little more fullness at the back than at the front but a fairly smooth line all round seemed to be in order, but with the skirt so arranged as to form drapery at the front, as it were following the waistline where it dropped at the centre front.

"Doesn't favour a lady with broad hips" said Roberta "Good job we're all slim hipped."

"Scrawny in my case dear" said Julia.

"Nonsense; under fed and under appreciated" said Roberta. "You've actually filled out even with the privations of travelling with us."

"Happiness does do wonders" admitted Julia. "This drawing which might be of a panel let in at each side or might be a front and back draped overskirt would admirably conceal a divided skirt in the side fabric's material; it's matched by the deep semicircular yoke see."

"I like that" said Roberta "And the hat isn't as wide as some. Mind some of the little chip hats aren't so much hats as frivolities."

"Nothing wrong wit' frivolity honey" said Amaryllis. "I sho' would like to be frivolous."

"And so you shall be" said Roberta. "I am glad that the style of a full taille is still in fashion so a waist and skirt might be worn with it as a suit. I feel more comfortable now with separates."

"And sho' 'nuff there's 'nuff garniture, Berta honey, to hide a multitude of changes" said Amaryllis.

"Yes; very adaptable" said Roberta "Peterson's shows sleeveheads as less full, but there's some ease in them; I like that for the ease of movement."

They returned to the hotel with an employee of the haberdasher's bringing their purchases, and were enjoying continuing their planning in the sitting room that was part of the Mortimers' suite when the men arrived.

"You know, ladies, I'd not grudge you going to a modiste and telling her, make up this, this and this model in such and such colour and fabric" said Mortimer.

"Uncle Douglas, 'deed that's profligate!" declared Amaryllis.

"Quite so" said Roberta "I know we took bounty and to spare and there's more than enough to boost the plantation but there's having plenty and then there's being extravagant!"

"Indeed!" agreed Julia "And me being grateful to you for your generosity, Colonel!"

"Makes me feel a bit of a dandy now getting our suits made up" said Joseph ruefully.

"Well we men have less need of different clothes for different times of day I guess" said Mortimer. "Just our extravagant vests to cheer up sober garb."

"Exactly" said Roberta. "We've advertised for a dressmaker though to help us; with an extra pair of hands, especially if she has a sewing machine, we can get our clothes made up in a trice, and enough cut and basted to occupy us on the rest of the journey. Amaryllis is clever about cutting out even without paper patterns; and we have bought adaptable patterns too. And don't you think that Amaryllis is going to look sweet in this pretty challis with pink roses on a beige ground, trimmed with this matching pink silk? And this blue and light brown tartan style check wool with the gold line in it on a beige ground teamed with the blue merino will do me just fine for a day dress, and Julia will be stylish in brown with a subtle golden brown stripe to it trimmed in scarlet."

"We'll be beating them off you all with sticks!" laughed Mortimer. "Oh has the paper been delivered? Anything in it?"

"Douglas, we haven't even unfolded it" said Roberta "We got in right before you did."

"Well then, I shall take the privilege of the head of the household to read it first" laughed Mortimer and picked it up.

Then he froze and read rapidly, fury on his face.

"What is it?" asked Roberta.

Mortimer flung the paper down for them to look at, too angry to speak.

A picture of Gamaliel Gellibrand sneered from the front page, accompanied by the headline 'Treasonous Smuggler kills Marshal and gets away'.

Roberta picked up the paper and read out:

"'Gamaliel Gellibrand, believed to be a respectable lawyer was proven to be a long time traitor and smuggler recently, his activities uncovered by Marshal Falk Peters with the aid of one of Gellibrand's victims in a big fraud perpetrated on him. Former Confederate Colonel Douglas Mortimer and his wife and other relatives aided Marshal Peters in following the trail that led to the confessions of confederates of Gellibrand naming him as their principal. Not only has the US Army been defrauded of materiel by this sordid gang but weapons have been sold to foreign nationals, posing a risk to National Security. Gellibrand received Marshal David Somerlees who was sent to arrest him and according to Gellibrand's own servants snatched a gun from a drawer and shot the Marshal dead. He is believed to be armed and dangerous. A bounty has been posted on him of five thousand dollars.' WELL!" she said "That poor marshal!"

"Indeed" said Mortimer "But probably too just a trifle over confident. To go alone when his quarry has servants – true, nobody seems to have backed him, but they might have done even if only out of fear, is stupid. Well looks like we're back to bounty hunting."

"No" said Roberta "You have your responsibility to your people – our people – first. The story goes on in a sickly sort of way about the marring of the romantic homecoming of the exile – that's you – and his lovely bride; I guess they had to assume that your bride is lovely to make up the rest of the fairy story that is here. And you need to get the plantation running properly and appoint Joseph as steward or whoever seems most suitable if he wants to turn bounty hunter and THEN we go after Gellibrand. He's as slippery as a buttered rattler in a tub of lard; I doubt they'll catch him quickly. Besides, then the bounty will go up and Uncle Sam can buy us an extension to the business. Mind, there's nothing wrong with dropping Manco a line."

Douglas Mortimer gave a shout of laughter.

"Practical as always, my love!" he said. "And you are right about reassuring our people. Now the rest of you go away; I want to kiss my clever wife properly and you are all cramping my style."

They laughed and left; and Roberta and Douglas might take out the bitter disappointment and anger in physical activity that restored their good spirits as they loved together and recalled that there were more important things in life than the fate of Gamalial Gellibrand.


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35**

The riverboat was called _Princess of the Billows_ which was, as Roberta muttered a rather pretentious name.

"They're pretentious sorts of boats my dear" said Mortimer "All top hamper; rather like a blowsy bar girl. There's only a foot or two of freeboard; it's said they can make way on a heavy dew."

"It's not being able to float on a heavy dew that bothers me" said Roberta, eyeing the big wooden boat and its side wheels with disfavour "It's staying afloat on a deep river. I do not swim."

"You don't? after growing up on the Roanoke Lake?" Mortimer was surprised.

"With a father like mine? Douglas, you know how genteel my riding was" said Roberta.

"Well then; I shall have great enjoyment teaching you to swim" said Mortimer. Roberta blushed prettily.

"I look forward to that" she said "But in the meantime, if God had meant mankind to travel by these washtubs with boilers he wouldn't have sent Trevithick to invent steam locomotives."

"Sho' honey, the Good Lord can't mean to drown us when we has our new clo'es" said Amaryllis comfortingly if, as Roberta privately thought, irrelevantly.

They had found a seamstress who had a daughter to help her and were dressed in such of their new finery as had been completed while waiting for the men to be outfitted. And their finery was enough to earn the deference of many people; even Joseph and Amaryllis were given more respect than that to which they were accustomed. As the women were also bedecked with furs lining their muffs, trimming their coats and as hats they were obviously people of substance. The weather was not cold by the standards of the locals, being well above freezing; but to those not long up from Mexico, however cold the desert nights might get, a constant lower temperature was noticeable.

"With luck we can celebrate Christmas with our people" said Roberta.

"If all the connections are running" said Joseph. "If not, don't worry, Bobby: we'll celebrate Christmas late and with New Year together."

"And we won't get anywhere unless we get aboard before the wretched boat goes" said Mortimer testily.

"Sorry Douglas" said Roberta. "Let us get on board; and stay above decks as much as we may. I have read too much of Mark Twain's books not to be nervous of an engine explosion such as killed his brother. Being shot by bandits is one thing; being boiled to death is another thing. It gives me a whole new perspective on the feelings of crawfish."

Mortimer offered her his arm to mount the gangplank, smiling tenderly.

His Roberta was game to go on a vessel that plainly disquieted her; and had she cried off and insisted on going by other means of transport he would have humoured that whim. Her pregnancy was causing her but few physical symptoms to date but he knew that ladies in a certain condition could get unexpected fancies and needed to be humoured. But her courage was unimpaired!

Soon it would be possible to go easily by rail almost anywhere; the building of a bridge over the Mississippi was to be begun soon to carry a railroad; and that would be the only bridge south of St Louis to make a new connection.

oOoOo

The noise of the big side wheels beating through the water against the inexorable flow of the mighty river and the throb of the engine driving them were like a heart beat in the big vessel. It would take a couple of days to travel up to St Louis; and though there were perhaps more direct routes, Mortimer thought it might even so be the most efficient and certainly the easiest way to travel since the rail connections to be found in St Louis were extensive. Goods of all kinds as well as passengers were being transported on the decks; boxes of fruit, crates of chickens, kegs of kerosene, corn, live cattle – their pens looked none so secure – and alligator skins were among the things Roberta noticed. There was no real cargo hold as most of the ship was above the waterline, but the lower deck seemed given over largely to cargo, the passengers congregating on the upper deck and tending, those whose cabins were on the lower deck, to find it more convenient to descend to their cabins within the superstructure not by an external companion way.

It was interesting to stand at the bow for a while to watch the ship start to make her way up river, the high protecting levees on each bank protecting the countryside beyond from all but the worst of the floods of the great waterway. And as the sun set the view across the wide landscape was spectacular with a sunset spreading across the whole horizon in a gaudy tapestry of scarlets, vermilions, oranges and gold, the clouds a dark skein of bruised purple against the vividly bleeding sky.

It grew rapidly very cold and Roberta allowed Mortimer to draw her inside to the passenger lounge. There seemed to be a lot of gambling going on here; in fact it did not look much different to some of the saloons out west that she was used to.

The obvious card sharp was not so obvious to some of the total rubes who were losing money hand over fist to him.

Roberta watched and then turned to her husband.

"Douglas, I don't know that game" she said in a clear, cheerful voice "I never knew that it was allowed to make marks on the cards with fingernails, the gentleman with the burgundy coloured vest is much better at it than the other players, isn't he?"

The fight started right after the rubes had picked their jaws up off the floor.

"Minx" said Mortimer.

"I don't like seeing people fleeced" said Roberta "And I didn't think the Anchor Line would like me to shoot him."

"Probably not" said Mortimer "I swear, Mrs Mortimer, you are more dangerous being a fluffy and empty headed lady than ever Snakekiller Bobby was."

"Well I have to have some hobbies in skirts" said Roberta.

oOoOo

Stewards broke the fight up and the pack was examined. The Captain himself came, summoned to pass judgement, and the gamblers were ordered to take back whatever they had started out with and call it quits.

The sharp was hustled off.

Rumour had it that he was either thrown overboard or fed to a live gator being transported in the cargo; but Mortimer, who liked to make it his business to know everything, discovered that he was to be put off at the next stop unceremoniously and would be banned from Anchor Line ships at least forthwith.

Gambling was a part of the revenue of the line; professionals paid a percentage of their winnings to the company for the privilege of holding court, as it were, with the passengers. A cheat however could only get the company a bad name.

Whether other lines were warned about the man's behaviour would doubtless depend on the level of rivalry; though Mortimer privately thought that rivals or no, a sharp would be exposed in any case, since the river boats were all under threat from the ever expanding railway network.

Doubtless the shipping companies would hope that he would take his cheating games onto long haul railway journeys.

oOoOo

Next morning the sun came up on the starboard bow like a golden dollar drowning in whiskey; and with it all the wild fowl on the river rose heavenwards in a cacophonous paean of praise to the morning, the honking raucous cries almost drowned out by the resounding drum-roll of thousands of beating wings.

The golden sky turned black momentarily with the mass of flying bodies before they resolved themselves into their disparate skeins to go about their own business silhouetted against the brightness of the dawn.

A few hardy souls were fishing off the levees; and children going to the fields to work waved to the boat. Roberta, one of the few to be abroad on deck, waved back. She had already breakfasted on coffee and poached eggs with bacon served with a good sized bowl of hominy grits flavoured with cracklins and hot corn bread dripping with butter; and felt well set up for the day.

"It's a good day when someone else prepares breakfast" she said, laughing, to Amaryllis "I hope we don't turn soft with hotel living and being carried by steamer."

"Somehow honey, I don' see yo' becomin' soft" said Amaryllis. "Gib'n half a chance I'd like to though."

"And so you shall" said Roberta cheerfully.

They watched a snag boat trawling the river for snags, dead tree branches that could stove in the hull of an unwary boat passing over them. The snag boat had a split bow and would manoeuvre over the snag, which was then lifted from the water with the A-frame crane that was mounted forward of the superstructure. Roberta thought it a pleasure to be able to see the snag boat at work, removing a large piece of tree; something new that she had never seen before.

Presumably it was a common enough sight to those living on the shore of the river; there were a number of attractive houses with balconies and wide stoops and verandahs under the balconies. Roberta wondered cynically how often they flooded. At least the people of Memphis had resort to the mounds built by long ago Indians presumably because they had the sense to avoid the river instead of trying, like some latter day King Canute, to assume that a control of such technologies as steam meant that natural hazards might be ignored.

oOoOo

The boat stopped several times on its way north, though not for long at each stop; and Roberta took an instant dislike to the affected looking girl of about her own age who was issuing loud orders to the stewards and who called Joseph 'boy' and told him to bring her case for her.

"Why?" said Joseph. "What did your last servant die of that you can't manage a civil 'please' even?"

That he should refuse left the girl staring and open mouthed. Her rather protuberant pale blue eyes bulged yet further.

"I'll have you sacked!" said the girl "You filthy creature!"

"Well that'll be a treat to see you try" said Joseph "Douglas, can you be sacked from holding shares in any venture?"

"Nope" said Mortimer "Missy, try for some common sense; and don't try to be sassy with your elders and betters; it doesn't make you look big, only very, very childish."

"You can't talk to me that way!" gasped the girl. "And how can you call HIM my betters? He's only a…"

"Brother of mine" said Mortimer "Funny though; I thought I just did talk to you that way" and he turned away to fill his pipe.

The girl stamped her foot; and looked at Roberta; who had the drop on her in terms of fashion accessories for being so recently clad.

"YOU look like a nice girl; you won't let those awful men behave like this will you?" she said.

Roberta regarded her.

"Sweetlips, I didn't like the way you addressed my brother-in-law nor the way you spoke to my husband and if I get another peep out of you on this voyage I'm going to drop your sorry ass in the mud" said Roberta.

This was the point at which the girl had hysterics.

Mortimer strolled aft to the wheel.

"Any chance of sounding the hooter to drown that out?" he said.

The wheelsman grinned and pulled the string.

The steam whistle was equal to the task of rendering the new passenger's hysterics entirely irrelevant.

oOoOo

The great arches of Eads Bridge in St Louis showed that the end of the journey was in sight.

"It was quite revolutionary when it was built around fifteen, sixteen years ago and is still impressive today" said Mortimer, seeing Roberta's interest "It was the first use of true steel in a major bridging project; the ribbed steel arch spans were considered pretty daring; and the use of cantilevers. It was one of the earliest uses of pneumatic caissons; I just lost you didn't I?"

"Yes love" said Roberta "What is a caisson and why is a pneumatic one exciting?"

"To drive the foundations of a bridge pier you need to have a watertight structure to go down into the river bed" explained Mortimer. "If they're shallow you can have them open at the top and just keep pumping water out; but this is soft mud and the caisson had to go deep. It's I think the deepest in the world. Then the top is sealed; the workers go in by a special chamber called an air lock, and compressed air is pumped in to keep mud and water out. It causes an awful crippling disease called caisson disease, which causes agonising pain and nobody knows why."

"They'd do better to find out and learn how to cure it rather than worry about more bridges until it's curable" said Roberta "Why will people work in such conditions if it causes such trouble?"

"Because it's pay" said Mortimer. "And because it's at the edge of what man can achieve; and enough find that exciting enough to risk it. Engineers have suffered as well as labourers. It's a grand memorial to those who died."

Roberta considered; and sniffed.

"Well that's a matter of opinion" she said. "Clever engineering is only clever when it becomes foolproof."

"Are you interested in the elephant?" asked Mortimer.

She eyed him suspiciously.

"You are not telling me that an elephant was a necessary adjunct to bridge building" she said.

"No; but he was for the testing" said Mortimer. "It's said than an elephant will not walk on any structure that is unsafe; so an elephant was driven across the bridge to test it."

"I have a better test" said Roberta.

"Go on then" said Mortimer.

"Drive a load of lawyers and politicians onto the bridge. If it stays up, it's a good bridge. If it falls down it's a GREAT bridge."

Mortimer laughed ruefully.

"You do have a point my dear" he said.


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter 36**

St Louis was the noisiest place Roberta thought she had ever been.

The sounds of shunting from the railroad were rivalled only by the many human cries and the sounds of coal rattling through chutes as it was transferred from the many mines of St Clair County; the packing factory had its own noise too. Wherever one went there was the sound of busy industry.

The city itself was built on terraces well above the river, and this was an obvious advantage, because of the amount of springs that ran into the river that had been notable on the way in. Flooding was a real danger if a city was not high enough.

Tall Brownstone buildings reached for the sky amongst the bustle, set firmly on their secure foundations. St Louis seemed everything a city should be. It was the end of the Riverboat trail; and the hub of more railways than Roberta know the names of.

The self opinionated girl had of course disembarked here; bound, by all accounts for New York. She had looked for a moment as though she were about to make some ill natured remark as she swept past Roberta and the others; but Roberta glanced over at the evil smelling river mud and looked pointedly at her; and the girl hurried on without comment.

Roberta was not sorry that they had likely seen the last of her.

The street cars were prolific and plentiful; many steam powered, a revelation to Roberta, who had only seen horse drawn street cars to date; and the new electric lines that were being erected over the streets were apparently for the new electric street cars that would be faster and more economical than the steam powered ones.

"What a very modern and innovative city!" marvelled Roberta "I suppose one gets used to the noise of so much modern convenience!"

"I prefer old fashioned inconvenience to live in myself" said Mortimer "Though I do like to rubberneck at the engineering marvels in a place like this."

"Old fashioned inconvenience has its place but be assured I will be making sure that our home has the latest of washing machines, sewing machines and a really good closed range for the convenience of myself and our servants" said Roberta firmly.

"Oh as to that, I agree wholeheartedly" said Mortimer "And of course I will be sure that the cotton gin is as up to date as may be for the convenience of the workers. I only meant that such a place as this makes me feel like Yankee Doodle."

"Who swore he couldn't see the town there were too many houses" said Roberta "Yes; this is all engineering wonder and it's hard to see it as a place people live."

Mortimer actually needed to check timetables here and work out carefully where they wished to go; with such a vast array of lines coming from all over, careful checking was required.

oOoOo

The work on a new station had not yet begun, but for the convenience of passengers an artist's impression of the mighty barrel-vaulted grand hall with Romanesque arches and stained glass windows had been painted, and a view of the exterior, with a massive clock tower so that nobody had any excuse to miss their train! It would incorporate an hotel as well.

"Good grief!" said Roberta, studying the drawing "It seems to me that the railway men of today are like the old royalty of the old world and this is one of their palaces!"

"It sho' is grand!" said Amaryllis, awed. "Dat window has mos' elegant ladies on it"

"It is the New Art style" said Roberta "That I have learned something about at school; pioneered in Europe by Mr Morris and taken up by others. It is very decorative; I like it."

"So long as you don't want stained glass windows in our house" laughed Mortimer.

"Oh stained glass windows are all very well for public buildings; but in a private residence they cut out the light and make the whole point of having a window entirely irrelevant" said Roberta.

They had time in hand to eat; and found a restaurant that would seat them all together. There were a few curious and even slightly hostile glances their way, but the group was fairly inured to that. That they were plainly wealthy spoke louder than any other consideration.

They went to the platform to make sure of being in plenty of time for the train; and because Roberta wanted to watch the plethora of trains pulling in and out, never colliding and all regulated as if they were toys operated by an unseen force to make them come and go on the proper lines at the proper time in a mechanical dance of precision.

And on the track across from theirs Roberta saw an all too familiar figure before it was obscured by a plume of smoke from an incoming train.

"DOUGLAS!" she cried "It's Gellibrand!" and looking quickly to make sure nothing was coming she pelted across the tracks. Mortimer followed her, Gellibrand was indeed on the other platform, about to board a train headed east; and Roberta almost ran into him as the smoke cleared.

An angry comment on his lips at being so nearly cannoned into turned to a look of surprise; and lascivious pleasure.

"Wel, well WELL!" he said "If it isn't little Roberta!"

"Mrs Mortimer to you, you fat creep" said Roberta "Are you coming quietly to be arrested?"

Mortimer had come up behind her by now.

Gellibrand regarded him with loathing.

"You can't escape, Gellibrand" said Mortimer.

Gellibrand looked wildly about; and took the way out that neither Roberta nor her husband would have guessed, bowling right through a family of small children who appeared to be there to wave somebody off, leaping into the train almost through the person they were waving to.

One of the little girls fell heavily, right between the train wheels as the whistle blew and the first movement of the rods announced its imminent departure. Roberta dived right after the child and threw her clear to Mortimer, rolling out of the way herself as the mighty engine's wheels thundered past her head.

Her stylish chip hat had come off as she dived and was a casualty of the inexorable power of the steam locomotive, cut cleanly in half. Roberta shuddered, recalling that the child's arm had been right where her hat landed. She stayed crouched low as the carriages howled and thundered past as the train picked up speed, knowing that the suction of the passing coaches could still drag her under the train if she did not stay low.

And then it was gone, carrying Gellibrand away.

Roberta got up and brushed dust of her skirt.

It would wash.

She was embarrassed to find the small girl's mother kneeling to kiss her hands.

"I say! That's not necessary!" said Roberta, taking the woman's hands to raise her.

"Miss yo' is de bravest woman dat ebba I seen" said the woman, tears running down her dusky cheeks "I thought, ma baby is gwine fo' sho', then you done saved her!"

"That fat pig wouldn't have pushed her if we hadn't been trying to arrest him" said Roberta "It was my responsibility. Is she all right? Scared I expect; you'll want to take her to a wash room and clean her up some."

"Miss, I can't git over how you, a white lady who's sho' nuff wealthy, put yo'self out for ma baby!" said the woman.

Roberta leaned forward and kissed her cheek.

"Well, I'm expecting my first; and our babies are precious to all of us" she said. "You'll excuse me; I feel most shaky now it's over and I want to sit down!"

Mortimer picked her up and carried her unceremoniously to a seat.

"Don't frighten me like that again" he said.

"What else was I to do?" asked Roberta.

He gave a rueful grin.

"Nothing else you could do" he said. "And far more important to save the child than go after that man. I'll wire to Manco what train he's on, and to Peters too; he might manage to wire to someone to meet him somewhere. It's worth a hope."

"What has he done?" the small girl pulled Roberta's arm to ask, much to her mother's horror.

Roberta put an arm around her.

"Well sweetie, he's been paying people very low wages, and as well as that he's been stealing guns from Uncle Sam to sell to foreigners so he's a great big traitor, and a thief and he's had men killed as well so he's also a murderer" she said. "But don't you worry; my husband here will wire a marshal we know who will have him arrested."

"Good" said the little girl "He done made me bump ma head and ma knee and darty ma dress!"

"A very wicked man indeed" said Roberta gravely.

She was glad to sit quietly; her head swam and she felt quite sick. She was not hurt; she was athletic enough not to have strained anything in that mad dive, but the memory of the proximity of the thundering wheels made her feel light headed.

Mortimer brought her a glass of water and added a generous nip from his hip flask. Roberta sipped it, shuddering. She still did not like the taste.

"You tell me if you feel any effects on baby" said Mortimer in a low voice.

Roberta blinked surprised.

"On baby? Why should it affect baby?" she said.

"I understand a shock can make a woman miscarry" said Mortimer.

"Stuff and nonsense" said Roberta. "Well it might with weak willed ninnies I suppose; but I thought you knew me better than that!"

"I suppose I ought to" said Mortimer ruefully.

"Damn right" said Roberta "Douglas, take this horrid stuff away and get me a nice cup of tea or coffee. I hate spirits."

"Yes ma'am" said Mortimer.

oOoOo

They returned to their own platform and Roberta drank tea in the waiting room thankfully.

Soon they would be on the last leg of the journey and then they would be back in Oak Grove; it seemed so long since she had been there! So much had happened in the past year or so; she was a different person to the determined but only too ignorant little girl who had run away; now she was a married woman, to be a mother; and had tasted the delights of the freedom of being a bounty hunter as Snakekiller Bobby! She would miss that.

But at least her beloved Douglas did not expect her to be a demure stay-at-home wife doing nothing but sew a fine seam; she would leave that to Amaryllis who was – ironically perhaps! – far more suited to the life of a Southern Belle!


	37. Chapter 37

**Chapter 37**

Douglas Mortimer was particularly tender towards his wife on the last leg of the journey; though there had not been time to fear for her more than momentarily he had subsequently dwelled upon the thought of losing everything that was dearest to him in the whole world under the uncaring wheels of a locomotive. He would not have her be any other sort of girl of course; but it made her, and his child within her, all the more precious to him.

Roberta was not averse; she had been badly shaken.

"Oh Douglas!" she whispered "This is so foolish! Why I was not even hurt; not like when I was shot; but I feel quite unnecessary!"

"I suppose" said Douglas "We were too busy for you to worry over much when you got shot; and moreover it was a part of the way of life you had chosen. There's something inhumanly frightening about the power of machines perhaps."

"I suppose that may be it" said Roberta "I have time sitting in a railway carriage to brood – and to brood on what might have happened to that little girl. I never found out her name you know! But I think too it is because I have another to worry about as well as my own safety."

He put an arm around her.

"I will do all I can to ensure the safety of both of you my love" he said, wishing it did not sound and feel so inadequate. Roberta did not find it inadequate and sighed with satisfaction and leaned on him.

"You know just the right times to be protective, Douglas, and when to let me do what I know I can do" she said "It's nice to know that you respect me as well as love me. Do you think Peters will get Gellibrand?"

"No" said Mortimer. "If I was him – and as you said he is a wily creature – I would jump train at an earlier stop than I initially intended and go by another route or hole up and go another time or to somewhere entirely different. Even supposing there's a law man ready to take him at the other end. I think he'll elude the law."

"Ah well" said Roberta "We'll just have to go after him ourselves. Though it will either have to be before I start to show or after baby is born."

"You are amazing!" said Mortimer, ignoring the carriage full of people to kiss his wife and caring nothing for any censorious comments that might be made!

oOoOo

The very final part of the journey was accomplished by horse and carriage; and having arranged ahead by telegraph for the feast to be taken on by carrier, Mortimer purchased a carriage and good horses since he doubted Gellibrand had any idea how to pick good horseflesh.

It was certainly less chilly here than in the interior of the country which had been very cold; and Roberta looked out of the window at the familiar and yet somehow unfamiliar landscape.

Mortimer pulled up at her parents' house.

"We need to get this over" he said.

Roberta pulled a face but nodded.

The butler let them in, grinning all over his face.

"Miss 'Berta, large as life!" he said. "I always knowed you'd be safe!"

"Ben, didn't father and mother apprise you of that?" said Roberta "I wrote to them some time since to tell them that I was married to Colonel Mortimer here."

"Well Ben" said Mortimer "I recall you well enough; you've clipped my ears and Joseph's for trespassing in Roberta's grandfather's woods before now."

Ben grinned again.

"Yessir, that I recall well too!" he said "Yo' people will be right glad to have yo' back, sir!"

Leroy Everard was sour looking.

"Well Leroyna, I can't say that I'm pleased" he said "I'm not even sure that a runaway marriage like yours is legal!"

"It is in Arizona where it took place and full faith and credence dictates that it is so here too" said Roberta. "And besides we can afford better lawyers than you."

Her father went purple.

Roberta grinned.

"Oh Roberta, you worried us so!" whined her mother. "And to marry a man so much older than you!"

"Well you worried me in not standing up to father over forcing me to marry Gellibrand" said Roberta "Who's older than my Douglas. And certainly not as much a man" she added. "AND he's a proven traitor. I'd watch your step, father: if anyone thought you, as so close a crony of his, was consorting with his business schemes…."

"You wouldn't dare, you little snake!" hissed her father.

"Try me" said Roberta. "Now y'all must excuse us; my husband and I have a homecoming to see to. Farewell; but don't expect me to feel too fond. Good afternoon."

"Well done" said Mortimer after they had left.

"I wanted to HIT him" said Roberta.

"I was more concerned you might shoot him; the congratulations were for managing not to" said Mortimer, dryly.

oOoOo

Oakridge House stood as the name implied on a ridge. Oak trees stood around it and too ringed the plantation and made up much of the woods that also belonged to the house, where Roberta knew that birch, maple and sycamore also grew. The house was much in the colonial style with a big portico held up with classical columns in the Ionic style, and long sash windows piercing the white stone walls. Steps down from the portico were edged by colonnades which continued in a sweep around to enclose a paved area under the windows, which on the ground floor opened out onto this paved area. One side was fully lit though it was not yet dark, the crepuscular hour approaching fast however. This was the ballroom where the feast was to be held.

Mortimer handed Roberta out of the coach; then swept her up in his arms to carry her over the threshold as if she were as light as thistledown; and put her down to lead her into the ballroom where all the workers were gathered on his orders.

Roberta had dressed for the occasion as her new people were owed as pretty a bride as she could be; and her happiness made her as much a beauty as any had ever seen, even though Roberta privately thought that Amaryllis was the lovely one of the two of them!

Roberta was in cornflower blue silk garnitured with a ruched silk ribbon in darker blue with a fine gold line in it. Her fichu was snowy white lace. Amaryllis was in dusky rose silk trimmed with white lace and Roberta thought that nobody could look as stylish! She felt fine enough however not to feel too intimidated by so many people that she must come to know; and smiled upon them as they stared at the newcomers.

The entire of the Plantation workers were black; a sea of dark faces greeted the Colonel and his wife and party; the older ones smiling, the younger ones uncertain. There had been, according to the lawyer's report, a white steward whose own actions had not born investigating; and who had left in the middle of the night with as many negotiable small valuables as he could manage.

"Howdy all" said Mortimer "I'm Douglas Mortimer; this is my wife, Roberta, my half brother Joseph and our niece Amaryllis. Along here we have Miss Preston who is going to be running a school for all the children on the plantation and such other local children as care to attend. Joseph, whom you all know, is going to be my steward. Now I've read myself in as they say at sea, I'll beg you excuse me because I want to see Mammy Beth."

"Mr Douglas, Ah is right heyah!"

The woman was old and walked with the difficulty of rheumatism; and Douglas swept her right into his arms.

"Mammy, I'm home, and I'm home for good!" he said "Well, barring the odd excursion! Come and give my wife a hug; you know Roberta, for surely you've heard about her from Amaryllis!"

"Sho' Ah have, honeychile" said Mammy enfolding Roberta into an embrace "And Ah'm that glad t'see Mr Douglas so happy - and ma Joseph lookin' weller than ever so long!"

"Comes of managing to split on that creature Gellibrand, ma" said Joseph. "Now what about that feast? Miss Preston, you'll do me the honour of letting me lead you in to eat?"

"I'd be delighted, Mr Mortimer" said Julia demurely.

Roberta raised an eyebrow.

THAT might be difficult to handle.

Well enough to worry about anything that happened in the future when it happened.

The feast was a spread.

The eyes of the children were wide!

"We got everything that sounded nice" said Mortimer "And a proper Christmas goose or several for this combined homecoming and Christmas feast with I don't know how many kinds of stuffing; and all the trimmings. Permit me to drink a toast to you all; and to the way we're going to lick this place into shape. To Oakridge Plantation and all its people!"

The toast was drunk rather gingerly.

The children were drinking it in ginger beer; and, it may be said, so was Roberta. She liked it better than wine or beer.

"To the Colonel!" called Joseph.

That was drunk to with more enthusiasm as the first swallow went down.

"And his wife and future generations!" added Amaryllis.

Roberta blinked.

"Speech!" shouted someone.

"I don't want to be long winded or the food will get cold" said Mortimer "But things will change and you will be getting a better deal; the New Year will see a new broom. And you'll be up for shares to; so what you put in, you will get out. I'll explain that properly another time. Will my wife have a word or two?"

Roberta rose.

"I'm delighted to come home here" she said "And to know that we're all safe from Gellibrand; and I'm glad to be mistress of the house married to its rightful owner not, as my father initially planned, married to Gellibrand. However we do NOT want to waste the good food; so I urge you to dig in and enjoy; and note that we sent to England for the jams, preserves and jellies for your bread and to eat with the fowl. If I may offer a toast to Wilkin and Sons of Tiptree – to the Jelly Brand you can trust in!"

There was a moment's silence then a roar of laughter.

"Oh very well done my dear" said Mortimer. "You have made yourself theirs by sharing a joke. It was the worst pun I ever heard."

"Thank you Douglas" said Roberta.

oOoOo

Much later, after having decided to get acquainted with the big bed in the master bedroom, Mortimer listened as the long case clock struck midnight.

"Merry Christmas my darling" he said.

"Merry Christmas, Douglas" said Roberta. "Now how about you come right here and give me a Christmas present?"

Douglas Mortimer of Oakridge House, Oak Grove, North Carolina, home at last, did just that.

**The End for Now**

_A/N sycamore to an American is the Platanus Americana, NOT what a Brit would call a sycamore which is the Acer pseudoplatanus. When in America use American nomenclature. _


End file.
